Test the moon
by HitokiriRyu77
Summary: one year after Galaxia, the scouts meet a new foe. who is this mysterious man, and what is he doing to them? and who are these frightening young warriors? slight AU, several OCs, no romance i don't write it well, so too bad. respond on: Death Pack, style
1. Chapter 1

Your tester will be...

It's engines pulsing gently, the massive ship settled behind the moon with precise grace that belied its massive size. Inside, the gentle hustle and bustle of space travel settled down until there was almost no sign of activity. On the observation deck stood a massive throne with a Dragon's head carved into the headboard. On the dragon head was a symbol resembling a full moon. Mounted above the throne was a sword, its blade smeared with ancient blood.

Sitting in the throne was a young-looking man, whose long hair had gone a soft white from some stress or horror in the past. He gazed solemnly at the small blue-green planet below. Then, with a wave of his hand, a small glowing disc appeared in front of him. Reflected in its surface was an image of three people: the man with his hair black, a young girl with long golden pigtails in a flowing white gown, and an armoured young man with a soft face and short black hair. "My old friends...how are your reincarnations doing? Have they prospered the way they should have? Are you safe?"

"King Drake. We have contact. Beginning teleport now." The face of the captain appeared in the disc, replacing the image.

"Very well. And tell the panel that i will join them shortly after the arrangements have been made, to explain my plan and begin the main event."

"Yes, sir. I'm sure they will be interested in what you have come up with."

"Yes, I guess so."

"We have them. Sending to your disc now."

"Very well. Receiving." he waved his hand, and the captain's image was replaced with an image of four girls. "People of the New Moon. As the ruler of the Full Moon Kingdom, I request your assistance in a venture of extreme importance to the solar system."

"We'll do our best...your majesty."

"Good." He waved his hand perpendicular to the disc, and it expanded to the floor. " I'm going to teleport you to my ship, where I will explain the venture."

"We're ready on this end."

"Very well. TELEPORT!" there was a brief flash of light, and the girls were standing beside the disc. "Good. Please bear with me. We must meet the panel, and I have four more arrivals to deal with." He snapped his fingers and four cloaked figures moved from the shadows. "These are my bodyguards. They will escort you to the panel. Do as they ask immediately and without question, or it will not be pleasant. I will join you shortly to explain." With that, the four girls left.

Turning to the disk, he again passed his hand over it. Four different girls appeared on the blank screen. Three of them wore strange black leather outfits, while the fourth wore a traditional-looking ornate dress. "Princess Kakyuu. It has been quite some time. Sailor stars, thank you for allowing me to speak with your princess. I understand your paranoia, but now is not the time. I trust you all remember a certain young girl from the planet Earth, yes?"

"Of course. Has something happened? Is she okay?"

"She's fine. However, the time is growing short, and we need to test her soon. We will need your help for this. I will teleport you into my ship now, so we can discuss it. You will be joining some people from the subordinate New Moon clan, soon to be the New Moon Kingdom, if all goes well. Please come aboard. I really do need your help to make this a proper test."

"Very well. Anything to help that girl. We're ready on this end, King Drake."

"Thank you." He repeated the teleportation procedure and again sent them with some bodyguards. Turning, he placed a strange crown on his head, then took several black crystal necklaces from a stand beside his crown. He then started to leave the room and begin the trek through the ship. As he left, he gazed back at the sword over the throne and saw a single drop of blood run down its edge. Wiping away sudden tears, he turned away. "Forgive me, old friends...know that what I do, I do for your future."


	2. Chapter 2

reading the directions.

The elevator came to a stop, and the Full Moon King stepped out. Fully resplendent in his crown and royal robes, he looked every inch his true self; the most powerful leader of the Moon clans, and the High King of the moon. All around him bowed deeply. He acknowledged them with a shallower, but still quite deep, bow. "Thank you all for coming. As you know, it is time for the testing of the leaders of the Earth and Crescent Moon, or Moonlight, Kingdoms. As you also know, both kingdoms were destroyed 3000 years ago by the Dark Kingdom. As many of you do not know, however, I and the two heirs were well acquainted. Actually, that is partly why i was chosen to administer the test. Another reason is that I am the only one of high enough rank who has also the power and knowledge to make the test a fair one.

"I will now explain my test. To make it fair, and to maintain continuity, I will of course wipe this knowledge from the memories of my aids. Allow me to introduce them: the four soldiers of the New Moon Kingdom, and the sailor stars and their princess. Please leave greetings until after the presentation. Now," he removed one of the necklaces from his pocket. "This is a necklace that I and some of my most talented and trusted magiscientists created. It has two functions. First, it acts as a cloaking device, making the wearer seem like a twisted, evil version of themselves. Second, it 'bonds' to the wearer in such a way that only a certain kind of energy can remove it.

"These necklaces will be placed upon the New Moon clan members, and they will then attack the girl, with the sole purpose of driving her into a special state of mind which will leave her open to my mind, and power. Disguised as my former self, before my test, and hidden by light, I will then transfer upon her a staff: the Crescent Dragon Staff. This staff will be the only thing that can remove the necklaces. Then, wearing this master necklace, I will appear as a cruel, monstrous being bent on domination. I will threaten the girl, and then fade.

"This is where the Starlights will come in with their memories doctored to show that their planet was destroyed by the armies of my necklace form. The reason for their unharmed departure is a group of soldiers managing to seal them in their transport capsules along with the princess. They were then sent to earth as a last bastion against the evil me. The four New Moon warriors will meet up with the candidate for their Queenship and that girl's test will begin. At the same time, a group of creatures we call Shades, again artificial monsters though these are a blend of technologies from all of the girl's past enemies, will be attacking various people that are close to the girl and her guardians.

"After a certain time, she will eventually 'discover' my 'hideout' on the planet, at which time she will have to defeat my evil form and remove the necklace. But the test does not end there. That in itself is too much like what she has done in the past, and therefore does not make an accurate test. Also, the trials from the past have proven her capabilities to defend her planet. Now she must manage it. Before defeating me and removing the necklace, she will have a long, hard regimen of administrative duties to perform as the saviour of the world, for this will be highly publicized, and she will have no choice but to reveal herself at one point or another. But again that is not the full test. The final part will be her resolve in her ideals.

"I have placed five of my top agents, with their memories doctored, in high leadership roles within a vicious and powerful undercover crime-fighting organization. This group, who have not lost their core beliefs in a swift death to evil beings, will continually challenge the candidate's belief in peaceful resolution. Thus, the threefold test of power, administrative competence, and resolve will be met. Do I have your approval?"

"One question, my lord."

"Yes?"

"How can you be certain of the administrative section being according to plan?"

"I will insert myself, in disguise, as her personal aide, and will ensure that she has a heavy workload myself. As I am not allowed to help her, I will pretend only, and not do any actual work, forcing her to take up the slack."

"I see. Very good. You have my support."

"And mine!"

"Nothing less from King Drake, one of the greatest tacticians in the Kingdoms!" The entire room was in an uproar of agreement. The King smiled, and left to prepare.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: It's short, sorry, but I figured that was a good place to end the chapter. Hope your enjoying it so far! I'll only upload maybe four chapters at a time, to give people time to read, etc. but it IS complete. (over 40 chapters…I had no idea I was so long-winded…)

roll call.

Four girls sat or stood around the entrance to a shrine house. One, a black-haired girl, moaned. "She's late, as usual. I thought we were gonna do some training today, then study..." as if in answer to her statement, two sets of feet were running up the steps. Up the stairs came two people, the two, in fact that had been imaged in the Moon King's disc. The blonde skidded to a stop right in front of the four.

"Sorry we're late, we ran into some old friends." the man said, and gestured behind himself. Up the stairs came two girls, one dressed in manlike clothes and the other very feminine. The girls in the shrine, except the one who had just spoke, gathered around the two newcomers to share greetings. After a moment, the two turned to her.

"So, you felt it too?"

"Mm." she nodded.

"Do you know what it means?"

"No..."

"It means that you will all fall soon!" a new voice joined the conversation. It began to laugh, and was joined by three other voices. Watching in his control room, the king removed the necklace, then began muttering strange incantations. After a moment, he was once again the way he had been when the image had been taken, 3000 years ago. The four New Moon warriors were playing their part beautifully, the necklaces were obviously the culprits, and everything was going according to plan.

Including the now-progressing defeat of the girl's guardians by the four. As soon as the last one went down, the girl gripped her pathetic staff. The four laughing warriors gathered large amounts of energy into their hands, and launched them at the girl. As the energy struck her, she screamed. After a moment, the King felt a tug on his mind. She was ready. Closing his eyes, he assumed his guise of light, and entered her mind.


	4. Chapter 4

AN: This is it for today. Oops. I forgot, disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, however…the Moon King is my idea, and so is the test. (It's not canon, anyway…) also, the characters coming up are also mine. Respond please!

materials, please! the new students will arrive soon.

The girl was vaguely aware of the energy coursing through her, but suddenly she stopped feeling it. A brilliant light shone before her, and a man with long hair stood before her, his features obscured by the glare. "We meet again, old friend. You probably don't remember me, because it was back when you were Princess Serenity, not Usagi. I would like to help you against this enemy, but I cannot. Other circumstances are preventing it. I can, however, give you this. Use it, and do your best." He handed her a staff. It was beautiful, a crystal crescent moon set atop a long golden pole with a white dragon, bearing the crescent moon on its forehead, wrapped around it as if it were embracing it. The dragon's mouth clutched the base of the crystal as if devouring it. "This is the Crescent Dragon Staff. To use its power, simply call its name. Please. Keep yourself safe." And with that, he vanished. Back in the control chamber, the King smiled, then put the necklace on. Sitting in his modified throne, he placed one hand over his face, fingers spread to blank out his features without fully erasing them. Then, he waited for the girl to activate the new staff. It was a short wait. The staff did everything he had hoped; the four New Moon warriors were "freed" from the necklaces, and slumped to the ground unconscious. Immediately, he projected his image into the air above their forms. His master necklace in full view, he cackled insanely. "So, there are warriors on this planet who can oppose me? I am impressed. Since you have impressed me, I will spare you...for now. The next time we meet, it will be the last time!"

"Wait! Who are you? Why are you doing this?" Pretending to ignore her, he faded out, laughing insanely. As soon as it was done, he altered his appearance, to the extent of even aging his features to match his hair, and adding even more gentleness to his eyes. He then teleported down, timing it so that the guardians had just barely recovered and were not yet untransformed. He emerged from the trees, clapping.

"Amazing! I've never seen anything like that before! Unfortunately, I missed your transforming, so I don't know who you could be. But I will definitely figure it out! I will! Oh, sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. How rude of me. I am the head of the international peacekeeping group, the Moonfire group. We could use some people like you in our local branch. What do you say?"

"Well, um..."

"Great! Come to my office tomorrow at 9:00 sharp, you can come like this if you want, or just as you normally are. I don't want to be too pushy too quickly, after all!"

"Okay..."

"Yay! Thank you! I'll see you then, okay? Oh, here's the address." He tossed a business card to the girl. "Bye!" He walked off into the woods. As soon as he was out of sight, the King teleported back to his command station. He smiled to himself. "Everything is going as planned, though it is still too early to rejoice. Also, if my plans work too well, then not only could they fail the test, but they could even die...it's not good, but that's easy compared to the test I had to take...ah, you four." The Starlights had entered as he had been muttering. "Well, we'll be sending you down shortly. I already have a first target for the Shades. I'll doctor your memories and send you down now so you can get reacclimatised and recuperate. Is that okay?"

"Sure..." the princess answered, and the Starlights nodded.

"Very well." His fingers began to glow, and as he reached forward, a huge hand stretched out and sent four fingers into their minds. Immediately, they collapsed and he teleported them down to the apartment they had set up, both in their memories and in actuality, for this purpose. He checked on them in his disc to ensure their safety and the peaceful transition of the memories. It was exactly how it should be. He smiled, then turned to his scientists. "Prepare to send the first Shade. Send it first thing tomorrow. Its target is this boy." In the disc was a boy, very nerdy, with strange spiral designs in his glasses giving the impression of foolishness. "His name is Umino. Prepare a special one for him."

"Yes, sir." The scientists left to prepare the Shade, leaving their King alone to plan.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: now, to prevent confusion, what I'm doing is, I have already written every chapter, but I am posting slowly for two reasons. Also, sorry this chapter is short, but I couldn't think of a good way to continue it. The chapters will get longer later in the story, however. And watch out for some blood and violence, and swearing. (hence rating.)

1: I want to get reviews on the process as much as the story.

2: I was just finishing up a revision of the story, in fact I am posting these next chapters to celebrate the completion of said revision.

Disclaimer: if it isn't in the Sailor Moon anime or manga, it's my idea. Otherwise, I don't own it.

first question.

It was the next morning, and the four girls from the shrine, along with the blonde girl, were walking to school. They passed a small alley, and noticed Umino and Naru, both of whom they hadn't seen for a while. Naru was standing behind Umino, who was in a defensive stance in front of her. It was only after a moment that they noticed the creature that stood before the couple. It looked like a large shapeless blob of darkness. Suddenly it rushed forward and enveloped Umino. He yelled in pain, and began to alter. His features blended like water, and he became a large, strong man in a dark blue cloak. Laughing insanely, he punched the wall, and it cracked from top to bottom. Then, from seemingly nowhere, came a voice "Star Serious Laser!" and a beam of white energy struck the altered Umino in the chest. He flew back, and three girls in strange leather outfits landed in front of him. Immediately, the five girls transformed and joined them. The blonde girl rushed to the one in the middle.

"Fighter! It's been almost a year! Are you okay? Why are you guys here? I thought you were staying at your planet?"

"Sailor Moon...it's a long tale. Wait until we clean this thing up, okay?"

"Sure! I'll see if I can do something. Crescent Dragon Staff, shine!" She brandished the staff, with the dragon pointing at the altered Umino, and the dragon seperated from the staff and shot forward, slamming into Umino. He yelled again, and returned to normal, collapsing to the ground like a toy. The creature stood before them for a moment, then shattered. Sailor Moon turned to Naru. "Make sure he's okay, huh? It would be sad if he was hurt."

"Thank you!" Naru took Umino's head in her arms, and the Sailors left.

Up in the control room, the King smiled. Soon, now...his plans were almost complete.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: if it isn't Sailor Moon canon, it's mine. Otherwise, it isn't.

answer in complete sentences, please.

The Sailor Soldiers and the Starlights were back in their normal forms, and were talking about the incident. The soldiers were confused, as they had not been attacked since the horrors of Galaxia. The Starlights were adamant in their hatred of the creatures, and their master, but were extremely cagey about their reasons. It took nearly an hour of persuasion to get them to talk, and when they did, it was reluctantly, with much stopping and starting. After a moment, though, they were able to tell their story coherently.

"It was only a few weeks ago, on our planet, that they arrived. The monsters they brought with them were incredible. They would take over a person, read their thoughts and give them the one attribute they most wished they had, then drive them mad with the newfound power. Many of our strongest warriors fell to them. Then, the leaders came. Wearing strange necklaces that amplified their powers, they tore through our warriors like dolls. We were prepared to fight and die to protect our world, but just before the assault reached the throne room, some of the soldiers who were left forced us into escape capsules and sent us here to get help. We rocketed off just as the attackers killed the last of the guards and began to mine the planet for resources for their next wave of conquest. Now, we and the princess have nowhere to go, and once again need your help. We are truly sorry to bother you after you have had peace for so long."

"No, it's fine. Actually, we were attacked just the other day by some old friends who were wearing necklaces like that. Then we saw this man in a strange disc that was wearing a more elaborate one. He was almost beautiful in a twisted, evil way. He said he would spare us, but that the next time we met he would kill us...the friends of ours still haven't recovered...we're really worried, especially about the man who gave Usagi her new staff, and that old man that came up to us right after the fight...he could get hurt, or worse. And who is that in her dream? He's obviously incredibly powerful, if a fraction of his power went into that staff. But if he can't help, then how strong must the enemy be?" Rei looked very serious as she spoke. "It's frightening...and yet, it's been so long since we last had to use our powers it'll be good to get back into it..."

"It's not a training situation! It's deadly serious!"

"Oh, you three again? What's the problem this time?"

"Haruka! Michiru! Hotaru! A new enemy has appeared, and they destroyed the Starlight's home! And they're coming here next! We met their leader for a moment, and he's scary!"

"There, there, Usagi. You'll be okay. After all, you saved the galaxy. I'm sure it'll be okay."

"But..."

"No, they're right. Especially with your new attack, it should be easy. Hmm? Don't you have to go to that appointment?"

"Oh, yeah! And we'll have to go transformed to avoid involving him...this is so confusing! Arrgh!" The girls ran off, hoping to make it on time.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: another short one…sorry.

Disclaimer: once again, it's mine if you Sailor Moon fanatics don't recognize it.

second question.

The King gazed through his viewdisc from his office in the headquarters, watching the sailors travel towards his location. He smiled to himself. This would be so much easier than his test. Just remembering it made him tremble all over. And the sad part was that he had gotten white hair before endymion, who was mortal. But this sort of thing was normal for a King. They were almost there. The cameras were in place, the lights were ready, and his disguise was in place. All was ready. According to plan, he allowed the girls to get a glimpse of his viewdisc before appearing to be the simple producer. Sailor Moon came up to him. "What was that glow just now?"

"Huh? What are you talking about? Ah well. Time for the first photo shoot!" It was time to begin the third stage of the test.

As planned, about ten minutes into the shoot, a Shade attacked one of the camera operators, providing some excellent action shots. The publicity would be nearly global. Perfect. The girls, convinced that the creatures had already destroyed one planet, put up an amazing fight and unleashed nearly all of their power. They were almost ready to gain the Planet Dragons. He smiled behind his camera. Also, this shoot would send in those five. He was looking forward to that. They were the wolves that would run the test to ground and end it properly. They would definitely have to reveal their full powers to end the test, and to begin the grading session. The whole test would take more than a year, with the administration section lasting nearly double the other two. He was hoping for a favourable outcome, but had planned for every eventuality. Even a failure.

It would be incredibly painful to have to go to those lengths, but that was what his test had been preparing him for. These girls were the guardians, the New Moon were to be the assault army, and to him and his people went the administration, and the control. It was a good system, but it would continue even with those girls gone. The fight was over, and so was the shoot. As soon as the girls had left he aired them on a special channel. Those five would soon be on their way. He would have to prepare a suitable welcome for them.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Sorry, to all of you squeamish types out there, but here comes the blood. Now, this story is designed as a test for these upcoming characters, so any reviews on them would be much appreciated.

Disclaimer: these characters are mine, the king is mine, and the idea of the test is mine, otherwise it isn't. (oh, and the Planet Dragons are my idea too…)

Please don't antagonize the Wolves. They are not tame.

The swish-crack of wooden swords echoed throughout the small building. Two young men were sparring, while another flipped through news channels on TV, a fourth was searching the internet, and a fifth was monitoring the movements of certain people on a switchboard. Suddenly, the youth watching TV straightened. "Guys, you should see this..." The rest gathered around just as the special footage of the sailors began its first run. They watched in silence, then the one who had been on the switchboard began rapping orders.

"Contact the men to be on standby. Arrange for a flight to Japan. Everyone, prepare for combat!"

"Sir, yes sir!" The others responded in parade unison, then rushed to do his bidding.

The young leader turned to a small room and went to a Japanese-style shrine with a picture of an old man. Bowing to it, he turned and faced a flag that hung on the wall next to the shrine. Pushing it back, he revealed a small alcove with a set of three swords in it. Behind the swords was a traditional-looking outfit. Taking the outfit, he began to change. When he was done, he gathered his weapons and began to arrange them. The katana and the wakizashi he placed in the traditional positions at the waist. Then, the third sword was set into the left sleeve of his outfit. When he settled the folds of cloth around it, it was perfectly concealed. He left the room, and walked up to one of his companions. "Report." He demanded.

"We have the flight, and arrangements at an apartment for rental. The men are now on standby, so at a moments notice we can bring over 200 men into this fight. And the rest have gone to get ready to leave."

"Good. It won't be easy. We may have to go to Level Five."

"I understand. I'll be ready."

"Good. Go get ready."

"Sir!" He snapped off a salute, then went into his room. The leader gazed around the room, then shut off the TV. He went into a practice kata, keeping his sword sheathed. He grinned as he trained. He couldn't wait to get into the fray. He would show those foolish sailors the true meaning of war. And he would enjoy every second of it. 

The first thing they did upon arrival was scout the area. The switchboard user was walking around the downtown, when he heard a voice from the shadows of an alleyway. "Hey, kid. I have something to show you. Why don't you come in here?" The young man went in. The voice belonged to a strong-looking man in his late twenties. "All right, kid. Give me your money." He snarled, pulling a gun from his belt. The young man crossed his arms.

"Or what?"

"I'll shoot you. Now hands up!"

"Fine, fine." He raised his hands, flicking his right away from his sleeve as he did so. Suddenly, a knife seemed to grow from the mugger's chest. He gazed at it in shock, then collapsed onto his knees. The young man smirked. "Since you're about to die, I guess I can tell you my name. I am Michael, the Wolf's Fang. You picked the wrong person to mug, fool." He reached down and yanked the knife from the man's chest. A quick motion, and the blood flowed from the man's throat. Michael cleaned his blade, then sheathed it in his sleeve and left the alley. It was almost an hour before anyone noticed the blood, so by the time the police arrived, there was no sign of the killer. The only clue was three symbols, Aku Soku San, or swift death to evil. The shock of the death, and the symbols, scared the city's small criminal element completely undercover, and nearly all crimes stopped for over a month.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Heh. Thanks Arenee2006, my first review. So, to celebrate: the next two chapters! (I'll also upload more quickly now. I was waiting for someone to review before I posted more, as incentive to review.) Disclaimer: this next chapter is introducing an OC of mine, but the two having the conversation aren't mine.

Kingdom History 101.

Usagi was sitting in her room, gazing out the window, just thinking, when Luna walked over to her. "Hey, Usagi. What are you thinking?"

"Luna...you know my new attack? Did I tell you how I got it?"

"No, I just assumed it was Queen Serenity."

"It wasn't. It was a young man, and he said he was an old friend of Princess Serenity. Do you have any memories of hers you didn't return to me?"

"No. But I do remember a friend, though these are just my memories."

"I really want to hear them! Please, tell me!"

"Okay. Here goes. There were three kingdoms at that time, not just the two you and Mamoru represent."

"Another Kingdom?"

"Yes. and this Kingdom was far more powerful than the other two. Your kingdom was the Moonlight, or Crescent Moon kingdom. Mamoru's was the Earth Kingdom. the third Kingdom was known as the Full Moon Kingdom. The younger prince of that nation was often brought along on diplomatic visits to the other Kingdoms, and so became good friends with both Princess Serenity and Prince Endymion, though the two saw each other as a rival. Even among his siblings, he was exceptional. the older brother actually was deemed unworthy of Kingship, and the crown was set to fall to the younger son when the King died."

"Why? What was so special about him?"

"Well, if I remember right, he was amazing. He had charisma that few could resist, but that was only part of it. The other parts were frightening to many."

"How so?"

"Well, he was an average swordsman, able to occasionally defeat Endymion, but that was only part of his abilities, and there were many better than him. No, his real talents lay in tactics and governance. His tactical prowess was so great that no one could defeat him at any test of strategy. From chess to mock wars, no one could best him. And when he was asked to sit in for his father one day, he solved more problems in an hour than his elder brother solved in a day. It was truly amazing."

"Mmm. So, did he have any special powers?"

"Yes. He was a rare person whose power came not from the Moon, but from a Dragon directly."

"Huh?"

"You see, every planet has a Guardian Dragon that corresponds to its element. Normally, the Dragon that you would get your powers from as Queen and the Dragon the Full Moon King received his from would be the same, and the power would come through the Moon. However, this prince used the power of a different dragon, that didn't have a planet, so he could directly manipulate its powers."

"That's amazing!"

"Mm. It also meant that he was effectively immortal. So, not only did he have the potential for power greater even than his father, but he would be an eternal guardian of his Kingdom. But it also meant that his Test would be nearly impossible..."

"Test?"

"Yes. I don't really remember it, so I can't explain it. Actually, I don't think I ever witnessed a Test. and I know Serenity didn't."

"Hmm. I wonder what kind of test it was?"

"I really don't know."

"Thanks, Luna. I guess that's what I wanted to know..." 

"Hmmm. It appears that Luna has more memories of me than I thought. This could prove troublesome. Ah well. It's time to begin awakening the dragons. We'll start with Mercury, as she is also the first target of the new players." The king gazed down at his viewdisc, at the young girl who was just about to meet a Wolf. 

The five young men had arrived in Japan, and the second thing they had done was wander the area taking pictures of groups of girls that matched the soldiers. After that, they began to plan their contact.

"So, one of us will meet with the girl, then plant a special scent on her at some point enabling them to determine whether she's a soldier or not." The leader, Michael, said.

"Sir, only one question. How will we ensure their transformation?"

"Simple. We'll become targets."

"Ah. As you command, sir."

"First up, I think, will be you, Timothy. Prepare yourself."

"Yes, sir."

"Matthew?"  
"Sir?"

"I want you to do a scrying, see if you can get us a probable target."

"Yes sir." Matthew drew his sword, and gazed into its mirrored surface. After a moment, his arm moved almost of its own accord to pick up a picture. "This girl. Name: Mizuno Ami. 98 probability of being Sailor Mercury."

"Thank you. I will begin preparing immediately." Timothy left.

"Commander, sir, what do we do?"

"You two stay out of sight, with me and Matthew."

"Sir?"  
"We cannot infiltrate the group if they have seen us, can we?"

"True, sir. I apologize."

"No worries. Prepare yourselves for your parts."

"Sir, yes sir!"


	10. Chapter 10

AN: I got the idea for Planet Dragons from the fact that I like dragons. Not much else to it.

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon isn't mine, but the newcomers, and anything not in the series is.

new materials?

The young man was obviously in a rush. He was paying very little attention to his surroundings, and so nearly trampled Ami. After a few minutes of apologizing, he slipped that he was from America. She pried a litlle, and got him to tell her his phone number before he raced off. Rounding the corner, he slowed to a walk, then ducked into an alleyway. A few seconds later, it was as if he had never been there.

The young man stepped off the elevator, and walked to the apartment. Entering with a brief bow, he made his report to the commander. "I've made contact with the first target. She should call at 1900 hours. I'm portraying myself as a weakling seeking power, which should make me a ripe target. Upon making contact with the enemy, I will plant the scent on the girl to determine her identity. Then, I will get myself possessed and attempt to break the hold, in order to deduce the enemies' strength. So from now till the call I will rest and prepare myself."

"Very well." The youth went into his room and knelt down to begin meditation. Three hours later, the phone rang. As he answered it, he recognized the girl. "Hi! sorry about earlier. I had a meeting to go to, and didn't really have time to chat. But the meeting is over now, so if you want, we can meet somewhere to talk, like you wanted."

"Great! You know the little cafe near where you ran into me?"

"Yes."

"Will that work?"

"Sure. Half an hour good?"

"Yep! Wow...this is the first time I've asked a guy to meet me somewhere."

"Really? Well, you did a good job. I'll see you in half an hour, okay?"

"Okay. Bye!"

"Bye." He hung up, and began to prepare. Dressing in his customary flowing shirt, he placed his concealed dagger in the sleeve and headed out. He arrived at the cafe a few minutes early, and took the opportunity to scout the area. She arrived barely on time, out of breath from running. He greeted her, and they entered the cafe. After a few drinks and a meal, about an hour after they entered, they left, and he offered to walk her home. As they walked along, there was a ripple of air on the road ahead of them. From the ripple emerged a strange man with an evil necklace on. He smiled, and said to the boy "Youth who wants power, take all you want and more!" The young man pushed Ami away from himself into the bushes. Unknown to her, he had also planted her with a special scent that would identify her to him if she turned out to be a soldier.

A Shade detached itself from the wall and rushed forward. Enveloping the young man, it transformed him into a strongman, wearing a dark blue cloak like all the others possesed by the shades. But something was wrong. The Shade was still partially visible. He began moaning and swearing as he wrested control back from the Shade. After a moment of struggle, he ejected it from his body. Pausing to catch his breath, he drew his concealed blade and leapt forward. With a single swift strike, he killed the Shade. Gasping for breath, he went down on one knee. The man with the necklace smiled. "I see that removing the Shade took nearly everything you had. It's time for you to die, then." He raised his hands, and fragments of ice shot out from them and began to solidify around the gasping youth. After a moment, he was nearly covered in the ice.

Suddenly, Sailor Mercury dropped down from a tree. "Hold it right there! How dare you interrupt two people enjoying a quiet evening! I won't forgive you for that!"

"H-heh. I don't think he really cares about being forgiven, girl. Don't worry, I'll be fine..." The youth began to struggle against the encasing ice, but it was too late. After only another moment, he was fully encased. But he noticed something. It wasn't as cold as thought. Then he noticed a peculiar glint in the attacker's eyes. W_hat? Could this be...no! But if it is... I'll need to look into this more thoroughly. Damn, I can't move._ Sailor Mercury stood there, just shaking, anger and pain struggling for dominance on her face.

"How dare you! I will not let you do this...ah!" Her face went blank, and her eyes unfocused for a moment. Then, she focused again, and shouted with all her might "Mercury Frost Dragon!" A huge wave of ice shot from her fingertips and formed into a Dragon, then shot forward to slam into the attacker. The man weathered the strike, but just barely. After he recovered, he snarled "I won't forget this!" and left in the same way he had come. The ice disappeared with him, and the young "victim" slumped to the ground. He didn't stay down, though. He stood quickly, and turned to sailor mercury.

"I guess I'll see you around, Ami-dono."

"Huh?"

"I guess you really didn't notice. Smell your wrist." She did, and started, surprised.

"This scent..."

"I planted it on that Ami girl when I shoved her into the bushes. The fact that you bear the same scent proves that you and her are the same. But don't worry, your secret is safe with me. Trust me." He gathered up his knife, and turned to leave.

"Wait! Who are you?"

"You'll find out sometime. Farewell!" He ran into the darkness and was quickly lost to sight.


	11. Chapter 11

AN: It's been a while, too bad. Nobody's reviewing. Apparently the prolific reviewers ignore Sailor Moon…ah, well. No whining. Next two chapters. Enjoy. (175 hits to only 1 review is a pretty crappy ratio, though. Please don't make it 200 to 1…)

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon isn't mine, but this story idea is. And ask before you use the Death Pack, huh?

watch out for the...big, good wolf?

Timothy finished his report, and went to rest. Michael kept the rest of the group up late discussing it. "The way i see it, is that if this girl is Sailor Mercury, then she must spend the bulk of her time with the other soldiers. Therefore, our search has become incredibly narrow. All we have to do, is search those girls near her. However, reports indicate nine or more, so we have to be selective. Matthew, I want you to investigate this girl, in person, next. Apparently she's a seer as well. If so, there's a chance that she may be able to block your scrying. Her name: Hino Rei. They are undoubtedly alerted to our prescence, so you must go soon."

"Very well, sir. I'll go after school tomorrow."

"That should work. You will have no trouble finding her, then?"

"No, sir. I'll get ready, then."

"Good." Matthew left. "Now, Sean. This girl is named Kino Makoto. I want you to investigate her tomorrow, as well. We have to step up our timetable, so our time is limited."

"Understood. I'll go prepare."

"Good." He left, as well. "Alan. This girl is Kaioh Michiru. A romantic approach won't work, as she is homosexual. You will have to simply get attacked in her presence and plant the scent while running, or something. I leave it to you, Alan."

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Go get ready. Yours will be the hardest assignment, so be extra careful."

"Sir, yes sir!" Alan left to prepare. Michael sat for a moment, gazing at the last pictures. _I will go for this girl. she's too young for a romantic approach, and simply getting attacked won't work. I will have to befriend her, then get attacked when she is near enough to implant with the scent. Her name: Tomoe Hotaru. Interesting, her father is a geneticist. Perhaps I have a path to her friendship. That makes things easier. I will begin in the morning._ He went to prepare for his ordeal. 

Watching the activity from his command ship, the Full Moon King prepared himself to awaken the last girls. This part of the test was nearing its halfway point of three months. It was time to begin attacking the girls directly. But they first had to be awakened. Tomorrow would acheive that. "Generals?"

"Sir?" they appeared, four men, including the one who had just attacked Timothy.

"Three of you will go down tomorrow, and attack three of those gentlemen. I will personally lead the attack on the leader."

"As you command, your Majesty."

"Get the Shades ready. Tomorrow's going to be a busy day." They left. He smiled, then started laughing, practicing his evil laugh for the next few months. 

Ami ran to the Hino shrine as fast as she could. She had already called everyone there, so she wanted to get there on time. It was only about a half-hour after she had fought off the general and met the strange young man. When she arrived, everyone was there. Not just Usagi, Rei and the other Inner Soldiers, but also the Starlights and the Outer Soldiers.

After she had told them what happened, the others began to argue about how to use this new information. The Inner Soldiers, Usagi mostly, but with the support of the others, were for warning off this new arrival. The Outer Soldiers believed that ignoring them was the best course, and the Starlights strongly advocated joining forces. Eventually, they decided to wait and see if it was just an isolated person, or a group. Then, if it was a group, they would either warn them off or join forces. If it was only a single person, they would warn them off or ignore them. And so, they dispersed, to rest for the next day.


	12. Chapter 12

AN: good old Alan, with terminal foot-in-mouth disease. (I wrote him that way, but it still makes me chuckle.) and the Death Pack is revealed, one by one. These are the guys I made this story for. Review on them, okay?

Disclaimer: the Planet Dragons are mine, (more on that in later notes…) the Death Pack are mine, and Sailor Moon is NOT.

moonlight shines on them.

Professor Tomoe wasn't expecting a visitor. But the young man was insistant, and also was incredibly interested in meeting. So, the professor let the young man in. The young man was polite, but his Japanese was accented and hesitant.

"Hello, my name is Mike. I'm a student from America, and I heard that you lived nearby. I'm extremely interested in genetics, and I was wondering if I could interview you?"

"Of course. Ask me anything you want, I'll answer it if I can."

"Thank you." His questions were detailed and well thought out, and he rapidly impressed the professor with his knowledge. Soon, they were colleagues, even going down to the professor's lab to run some experiments. Just as Mike was leaving, a young girl, accompanied by two women, ran up to the door. "Father, father!" She cried as she ran. The professor knelt to embrace her.

"Hotaru! You've grown so much! Are Haruka-san and Michiru-san taking good care of you?"

"Yep! Thank you for letting me live with them!"

"Of course. It's my only wish to make you happy."

"Father, who is this?"

"This is..."

"My name is Mike. I'm from America, and I was just talking to your Father about genetics. I was just leaving, so you can enjoy your visit. Maybe I'll see you around?"

"That would be nice! Good bye!"

"Good bye." As he walked away, he met the two girls. "So you are the girl's guardians?"

"Yes."

"Why? Is he incapable of providing for her? Or is he an unfit father?"

"No. We are just better capable of providing...protection. And for...specific needs of hers."

"Ah. I see. May I have your address?"

"Why?"

"I may wish to follow up on my comment. I think it would be...enlightening to meet with the daughter of such a famous geneticist."

"I suppose it would be okay. But we will be present for the first meeting. That meeting will determine whether or not you can meet her again, and if you can be alone with her."

"I understand, but let me assure you that I mean neither her nor you any harm. In fact, I may save your lives." as he spoke, his eyes went hooded, and his face darkened like a storm cloud.

"How?"

"If my suspicions are borne out, you already know." His face cleared, and he went over to their car. "Hey, Alan! What's up?"

"Just getting a ride, Mike. My car broke down, and these girls were nice enough to give me a hand." Answered the young man in the car.

"Really? That's great! Any luck on your search?"

"No, still no sign of shadows. I'll call if I see anything."

"Sounds good. The moon will be nice tonight."

"No, it won't be full, so it won't be showing it's true beauty." Mike left, getting in his car and pulling away. Haruka turned to Alan.

"You know him?"

"He's my...good friend."

"You hesitated. Why?"

"I can't tell you. Sorry, but it's not my secret to tell."

"Hmmph. You're using my words against me. So, why didn't he give you a ride?"

"I haven't finished my search."

"What are you searching for?"

"I think you know. But I won't know if you do for awhile. So it's best if I say nothing more."

"I hate it when people get all secretive."

"Then you must hate yourself a lot." She started, and looked at him, her eyes hooded. "Sorry, not my place." He back-pedalled. "Thank you for the ride. You're an excellent driver. You should be racing. I think you'd do very well."

"Thank you." She smiled slightly, but her eyes were still downcast. "Shall we go, then, Michiru?"

"Okay. We'll let Hotaru stay with the Professor for a while." They drove off, leaving the father and daughter to themselves.

It was a peaceful afternoon at the Hino shrine. There were no customers, or anyone praying, and the next festival wasn't for almost a month. In other words, it was ripe for a disturbance. Matthew walked up the stairs, trying to watch all directions at once, a feat made harder by the lack of a mirror for seeing. He reached the shrine and rang the prayer bell. After a moment, the young girl in the photo came out. "Oh, hello. Are you here for something?" she blushed slightly as she asked the question.

"Actually, I'm from out of town, and I was lost. But then I found this shrine. Do you have a mirror?"

"Huh?"

"I accidentally left mine at the hotel..."

"I don't think you need to fix anything."

"No, that's not what I need it for." He laughed. "Like I said, I'm lost. But not in the city. I need to see where I'm going. So, can I use a mirror? Just a small hand-held one will do."

"Um. Sure. One moment." She ran into the house, and emerged a moment later with a small hand mirror. "Will this work?"

"It'll do nicely." He took it, and, holding it parallel to the ground in front of him, he began to mutter some strange incantations. The girl started.

"You're a...seer?" He nodded, and continued his chant. After a moment, he held the mirror up to his face, and the surface swirled with mist. He seemed to be reassured by something in the mirror, and released his charm. "What did you see?" She asked, hesitant.

"I saw a path." He turned, and suddenly there was a flicker of motion, and a person wearing a dark necklace appeared.

"Person seeking life, recieve your gift!" A Shade leapt at the young man, who dodged it easily. He turned and grabbed Rei.

"This way! Hurry!" Together they took off running. It was useless, though. The young seer shoved Rei into the bushes, then drew his own short sword. "You won't get past me the same way you got my comrade last night." He gazed into the strangely rounded blade. The Shade attacked, but the seer dodged it easily. Countering with a vicious slash, he drove it away from the bushes. The general turned to watch the fight. Suddenly, Sailor Mars leapt from the bushes.

"Hold it! I won't allow you to attack a young seer seeking answers! Prepare to be chastised!"

The shade finally had fallen, and the general glared at the young man. "You will pay for that! Die!" He hissed. He raised his hand, and a blast of flames struck the youth, driving him into the bushes. Sailor Mars attacked with her own fire, but was unable to stop the attack.

"No...I wasn't able to protect him...No! I must protect him! I will! You will not defeat me!" She gritted, then roared her vow. Suddenly her eyes unfocused and she suddenly yelled out, with all her remaining strength, "Mars Flame Dragon!" her flame suddenly changed shape until it was a massive dragon, then pushed the general's flames back, away from the young man. The general stopped his attack.

"I will not forget this! You will pay for this!" He snarled, as he faded. When he was gone, the young man stepped over to her.

"Those are some nasty burns, Rei-dono."

"Huh?"

"Check your wrist. Funny that you girls don't notice the scents until we point them out to you."

"Oh, no..."

"Don't worry, your secret is safe with us."

"Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"You'll know, sooner than you think. I have seen it. The timetable has been advanced. Prepare yourself for a war. That is all I can say. Farewell." He ran off down the steps and was quickly lost to sight.


	13. Chapter 13

AN: you guys almost didn't get the rest of my story! (not because of anything you did…it was my fault.) I accidentally saved another story over this one, but I was able to find a backup copy of this and copy-paste it back. And then, also today, I got added to someone's favourites list! So, to celebrate: lets hit chapter 18, okay?

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon, and anything affiliated with it, is not mine. However, anything not mentioned in wikipedia is mine.

"No problem. I'd say anytime, but I wouldn't mean it."

"Damn, you're cold. Eh? Who are you?" This last was directed to the man that had just walked up to them.

"Man who seeks strength, recieve your desire!"

"Ah, hell. Bad timing. Guys, it's been nice knowing you..." He patted their hands as he got out. "Well, let's see if I can do this..." The Shade rose from the ground, and shot at him. He dodged it, yelling "Drive! Drive! Get out of here!" Haruka followed his advice, for a moment. Skidding around the corner, she and Michiru leapt out and transformed. They charged around the corner, to find the young man, suddenly serious, dodging the Shade as if it were immobile. Then, he slammed into it from behind. Smashing it again from the front, he drove it into a wall, then knocked it to the ground. A swift kick, and the Shade was destroyed. The general gazed at him, his expression unreadable.

"You will die for this. Slowly, and in great pain." He raised his hand, and jets of wind flew out from it, buffeting Alan heavily, then flinging him against a streetlight. He cursed under what little breath he could get, but it was clear he was in trouble. So, the sailors attacked.

"World Shaking!"

"Deep Submerge!" Two planet-shaped blasts of energy struck the general. He blocked them, but it stopped the wind. Alan slumped to the ground.

"Thanks, girls." He gasped. "Okay, let's get this guy!" He looked at them. "Ah, crud." Their eyes were blank, and they looked as if they were having a conversation with something. suddenly, they both roared.

"Uranus Sky Dragon!"

"Neptune Sea Dragon!" the two attacks barely missed the general, and he was obviously frightened.

"I won't forget this! You'll pay!" He disappeared. Alan turned to the girls, and seemed to be smelling something.

"Yep, it worked. Thanks for the saves, Haruka-dono, Michiru-dono. Both for the car, and just now. Nice to have met you. See ya." he started up to the hotel.

"Wait! How did you plant the scent on us?"

"When I patted your hands, before getting out. I think Mike is going to your place soon, so you better get on home. And trust me, he's not gonna be in a good mood. Be careful."

"What are you guys?"

"You'll find out soon, or so Mat says. And he's 98 accurate. So just wait, okay?" He went up to the hotel, but quickly left out the other way to head to his actual apartment.

"Excuse me, young lady, I'm sorry to bother you...but I'm lost. Could you show me the way to get to the theatre?"

"Umm...sure! I have nothing else to do, so I guess I can help!"

"Thank you very much! I'm meeting some friends there, and I'm from out of town, so I'm afraid I got a bit turned around."

"I understand! My name is Kino Makoto. What's yours?"

"My name is Sean. And you are?" He turned to the blonde girl standing nearby.

"Me? Aino Minako! Future pop idol!"

"Hmm. Prefer Metal. But good luck anyway." _Hmm. she was in a photo with that Ami girl. Could she also be a soldier? I'll plant her too._ The three set off in the direction of the theatre, Minako complaining the whole way about his comment on Metal. Suddenly, the last general was standing before them.

"Man who craves influence, receive your wish!" The Shade appeared from a tree behind them.

"Shit! Girls, get out of here!" He grabbed their arms and threw them into a nearby alley. Not looking back, he ran off as fast as he could. He was pursued by the general, and the Shade, and after a moment, two of the soldiers. He smiled. He had planted those girls with the scent, and so would be able to detect them. But first he had to defeat that Shade. That would be hard without his sword, but he would do his best. Quickly drawing his dagger, he ducked into a park and leapt into a tree.  
The shade flashed past him, then slowed and turned around. The general stopped right beneath the tree, but the girls were still a few blocks away. Sean smirked. Now he had the advantage. As the shade pursued him from tree to tree, he rained blows down on it. After a few moments, it fell, and he dropped out of the tree to finish it. After it had dispersed, he turned to the general. "your turn, you monster."

"Monster? Hah! And you think you can defeat me?" The general raised his hand, and a flash of green lightning illuminated the park as it struck Sean full in the chest. He yelled in pain, then gritted his teeth and started to walk forward. Finally, though, the soldiers arrived. Their eyes went blank, and then they cried out in unison:

"Jupiter Lightning Dragon!"

"Venus Love Dragon!" The two dragons, one bright blue lightning, the other soft pink energy, struck the general, and he flew backwards. Quickly getting up, he snarled "You haven't seen the last of me!" and vanished. Sean stood, and turned to the girls.

"Thanks, girls. Oh, and don't worry about the theatre, huh? I don't need to find it anymore. Bye, Mako-dono, Mina-dono." He quickly limped away, cursing to himself at the electrical charges still coursing through him. Once he was lost to sight, he returned to the apartment.


	14. Chapter 14

AN: heh, Michael in action. At last. For anyone who's wondering, I got Saturn's Planet Dragon from the Thrice song "of Dust and Nations." (good band. If you haven't heard them, you should.)(shameless hype for one of my favourite bands…)

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon isn't mine, but Michael is. If you want to use him, ask. Or he will destroy your story! Mwahahahaha! (I wish…)

battle of the wolf and the moon.

Michael listened to the reports, then turned to face the window. "I see. So, the enemy is that powerful, are they? Then, I will take the Fang Blade, and go now. The one that comes for me will undoubtedly be extremely powerful. I will NOT let him escape! Also, I will begin the forging of an alliance. I will return soon. Wait here, and recover."

"Sir, yes sir!" He left, taking his sword and placing it in a sword bag on his way out.

Haruka and Michiru were talking to Setsuna and Hotaru about the strange young men, when the doorbell rang. Haruka answered it, to find Mike there. But it wasn't Mike. Mike was sweet, and gentle, and seemed a bit foolish. This young man was cold, and cruel, and the light of cunning shone in his eyes. He smiled, but the smile was different. It too was cruel, and had a sense of bloodlust in it. "Hello. I'm here to see Sailor Saturn. My name is Michael. We met, earlier today, but I didn't tell you everything about me. And you didn't tell me everything about you."

"How..."

"I listened to my subordinate's reports, of course. They confirmed your identities. And I figured it was only natural that Sailor Saturn would be under the protection of the three most powerful soldiers." He entered, not even seeming to notice their protests. Taking off his shoes, he walked into the kitchen. "Ah, there you are. Now, we have to talk, Sailors Saturn, Pluto. And you as well, Sailors Neptune, Uranus. I am...excuse me. I have to deal with something. I'll return in a moment." He turned, and left the house, putting his shoes on as he left. The man who stood on the sidewalk gave off a powerful aura of evil. "Are you ready?" Michael asked. The man smiled.

"You are simply a pawn, albeit an extremely powerful one. Your struggle has little meaning to the final outcome."

"I suppose, but I've known that my whole life. I take it you are the leader of those men, then?"

"Indeed I am. Now, prepare for the fight of your life!" He drew a strange sword, and assumed a fighting stance. Michael unwrapped his sword, and drew it.

"I will not go to level four, no matter what. This is the first battle, and it is foolish to reveal your full power so early in the game." He charged, swinging viciously.

"You are truly the commander, aren't you?" The man said, as he met the strike. The swords clashed several more times, and then Michael leapt back. he took a strange stance, holding the base of the hilt with his right hand, and laying the sword parallel to the ground. Then, after a moment, he charged at an incredible speed. The enemy leader barely avoided the thrust, and then blocked the follow-up strikes. Finally, after several tense minutes on the defensive, he managed to overpower michael. Pluto and Saturn ran out of the house, and suddenly, their eyes went blank. Then Saturn said, almost silently, "Saturn Dust Dragon!" Pluto, also having attained the dragon, called it out as well.

"Pluto Time Dragon!" Two dragons, one made of dust and the other made of strange swirls and eddies, rose from the ground and rushed the enemy. He blocked them, then faded, taunting them as he went.

"When next we meet, you will not survive the encounter!" Once he left, the soldiers ran to Michael. He knelt there, his eyes downcast.

"I should have gone four! If I had, I would have won! Dammit! I was careless!"

"It's okay, at least we survived."

"No. It's not okay. Evil is still alive. That means it can threaten more people. Our lives would be a small price to pay for the safety of the world!"

"Why are you getting involved in this? This is not your fight."

"That is a valid question, Sailor Uranus. I hope this will answer it for you: Aku Soku San. Swift death to evil. That is the creed of the Death Pack. And I am their leader. We came in response to a photo shoot that aired on the news. Our goal was to destroy the person who was attacking you. We have not yet succeded, but we will soon. However, it has become obvious that we will need to join forces with you. Therefore, I offer an alliance. Contact me at this number, or at this address, when you decide. Until then, goodbye." He left, fading into the crowd as if he had never been there.


	15. Chapter 15

AN: this was kinda filler. Nothing else to say, really.

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon isn't mine. The end.

stupid mistake.

The king sat on his throne, gazing into a hand mirror. He smiled to himself, feeling immensely vain, something he would never have described himself as. One of his magiscientists came up to him. "Still no luck, sir?"

"No, no luck. I can't believe I left that out. I mean, its a dead giveaway, and it would be nice to know what they see me as. Wait. Could you describe it?"

"Of course sir."

"Then do so. I tire of staring into this blasted thing."

"As you command. Let's see if i can describe it. You look like yourself, but you have black dragon wings, and you're wearing black. Also, you have these fangs and claws that fit the wings. Your eyes are red, and your face is partially disguised by the visage of a demon, with tar-black skin and the jaws of a dragon."

"So, I look like a black dragon?"

"No. You look like a black half-dragon."

"Ah. So, the head is still approximately the same dimensions as my own face, only black?"

"Yes."

"Hmmm. I wonder why they don't react."

"Because it only occurs when you are at full power. When you limit your power, for instance, when you transmitted to the girls for the first time, or when you went out on the streets today..."

"I look like..."

"You look like a beautiful man, with black hair and soft red eyes. Your wings are hidden, and your fangs are only barely visible."

"So I look like a vampire?"

"Yes, my king."

"Thank you. Hmm. You may go. Prepare a Shade. We have to keep up the pressure. Only two more months until we're discovered. We need to keep on schedule."

"Yes, sir." The magiscientist left. The King sat there, thinking.

"Man, I can't believe I made such an obvious mistake! I mean, I left out the reflection protocol. That's such a novice mistake. Man. Ah, well. I guess it'll make telling my story a little easier. All I'll have to do, is stand in front of a mirror. Or wait until usagi hits me with that staff. But if she hesitates too long, there won't be anyone to tell my story to. Crap! This is hard! How'd dad ever keep mine going? Maybe that's why it's like this. To test both the former ruler and the ruler-to-be. But this is hard. Who knew there would be so many logistics problems? Right, enough complaining! It's time to assume my evil identity for the next stage. Looks like they're preparing an alliance. Good. Exactly according to plan." He turned to his viewdisc to watch the unfolding drama. 


	16. Chapter 16

AN: sorry to all you fans of the Outer sailors, but these guys just pretty much crush the girls. Now you get to see them at (almost) their full strength. Pretty scary, no? They were designed this way. Prepare for even more scary fighting from these guys, huh?

Disclaimer: the characters about to get owned are not mine. The characters _doing_ the owning, however, are.

no fighting with your new partners...too late...ouch!

The soldiers had made contact an hour ago, asking the group to come to the Hino shrine as soon as possible. The five men dressed in their traditional clothes and belted on their swords. Once they were ready, they set out. It was a sight Tokyo hadn't seen since the days of the Bakumatsu, and likely would never see again. They were conspicuous, but by unspoken code, no one commented except a few small children and some young women noticing the five's looks. One drunk man tried to pick a fight, but the sight of five drawn blades sobered him up faster than a cold shower, and he raced off. Two police officers stopped them for a simple ID check, then let them go. The girls were in the middle of an argument about what to do, whether to join forces, or to warn off the five. Ami had done some research, and learned aout the Death Pack. Her findings, coupled with the memories of the Starlights, convinced the Inner Soldiers to join forces. The Outers, however, were uncertain. They believed that the young fighters weren't powerful enough to survive a real situation, and so the Outers wanted to defeat the group, then make them leave. The Inners were dead set against the idea, but they agreed to let the Outers try it, if only to test the capabilities of the five. The sound of footsteps interrupted the final details, and the Death Pack came into view over the hill.

They were like something out of a history documentary. They wore the traditional hakamas and kimonos, with the light blue haori that so distinguished their original namesake, the Shinsengumi. Sean was using his spear-sword to hold up the flag with the symbol makoto (truth). They looked truly deadly, and deserving of every aspect of the reputation they had achieved. Looking at them, the soldiers believed every single rumour they had ever heard about these five men.

Swallowing hard, the Outer Soldiers stepped forward. Transforming, they stood their ground. Pluto stepped forward. "I'm sorry, but we cannot allow you to get involved in this fight. Please understand, this is for your own safety!"

"We do not care. Our safety is of no concern to us. Our only concern is the preservation of peace, through Aku Soku San. We will not deviate from our path. Besides," he smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile. "we are already in it up to our necks. There's no turning back."

"Then, you leave us no choice. We will show you what you are getting into!" Pluto snapped.

"Come, then. We will show you what war is all about. I hope you survive to implement your lessons. Level one, gentlemen." Sean stepped back, and propped the flag up against the arch. "Sean, guard the flag. We want this to be fair."

"Yes, sir." Sean picked the flag back up, then walked over to the sidelines. The other four took their swords, still sheathed, from their belts. The eight combatants charged!

Meeting in the centre, Michael was immediately in combat with Saturn, while Matthew, wielding his strange sword, locked into combat with Pluto. Timothy and Alan squared off against Neptune and Uranus.

Saturn's strange weapon was incredibly fast, but Michael was far faster. She was incredibly strong, too. He supposed it was from her transformation, because she certainly didn't appear to have the strength she was displaying. But he was stronger. Leaping into the air, he brought his sword down with all his might. Though she blocked it, the shock wave from the blow sent her to her knees. As he landed, he leapt back and took the strange parallel stance. After only a few seconds of pause, he charged, yelling as he ran. "Ryugatotsu Shinuichi!"

"Silent Wall!" Saturn created a strange barrier in front of her. His first strike hit the barrier, but the sheer force of the blow nearly lowered it. His second blow, just as powerful as the first, sent a long crack up the barrier. His third strike widened the crack, and his fourth shattered the shield. But he wasn't done. His fifth strike caught her in the solar plexus and launched her through the wall of the shrine. He recovered from the strike, then returned his sword to his belt and sat down to watch the rest of the battles finish.

Pluto was angry. This strange young man was just staring at his sword. "If you don't pay attention..." she started.

"I'll lose. Right?"

"How..."

"Did I do that? Attack me, and you'll see." She did so, swinging her staff like a spear. It never reached him. He sidestepped, then leapt over the backswing, never once taking his eyes off his weapon. Suddenly, Rei recognized him.

"Pluto! Watch out! He's a seer!"

"What?"

"Ah, so you finally remembered? Right on time. I told you that you would learn who we were soon." Pluto charged, swinging her staff in a hundred different directions at once. Not a single strike hit. Finally, he yawned. "As fun as this is, it's getting tiresome. I guess this is the end. Sorry. Scrying Slice!" He swung off to Pluto's right. When she paused, confused, he smashed his sheath into her side, knocking the air out of her. A second swing knocked her out cold. Matthew walked over to join Michael and Sean at the sidelines. 

Timothy plied his two swords extremely effectively against Uranus's sword. His deadly slashes nearly broke her arm several times. Each slice got closer and closer, and eventually she couldn't dodge it. He stood over her, incredibly imposing in his old-fashioned garb. "Stone Slash." he brought one sword down with his full strength, catching her on the crown and driving her to the ground. He checked her, confirmed she was out, then went to join the others.

Alan was using the speed he had displayed at the hotel incredibly effectively. Neptune was completely unable to keep up with him. His strikes weren't as powerful as the other fighter's were, but they were numerous and in weak areas. After several minutes, he stopped. "I'm tired of playing around. Cyclone!" His sword tuned into a blur of sheath and hilt as he spun into Neptune. He emerged out the behind her, and she seemed to not even be touched. Suddenly she began shaking as if being hit by a machine gun. After shaking for almost a minute, she collapsed like a rag doll. The five men stood there, gazing at the other girls. Michael stepped to Usagi. "Now you understand. We are far more powerful than you are, and we were barely able to defeat the Shades. You need us. You have no choice but to join forces. We will wait here until the other girls wake, then we will hear your answer. But you will not warn us off. We are Samurai, and to flee from this fight would be incredibly dishonourable. We will not flee, and if we cannot join forces, then we will simply do things our way. Understood?"

"Yes." The girls went off to the side to discuss the new development, while the victors simply watched and waited.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon isn't mine, and the Shinsengumi are a real, historical group that I (sadly) have no affiliation with at all. The version in this story is mine, but that's about it.

get to know your partners, class.

Usagi and the other girls, including the Starlights, had gathered the outer soldiers and made them comfortable. Once that was done, they began to discuss the Death Pack.

"I think that we really have little choice in this. If they could defeat the four most powerful soldiers of this world, but not those generals, then we could really be in trouble without their help." Kakyuu began. The Starlights agreed emphatically. Usagi nodded, but Rei was unsure.

"But how can we be sure we can trust them? If they were to turn on us, we would be unable to stop them."

"That's the point of this demonstration. To show that if we feel we need to crush you, we could do it easily. It's really only an object lesson. We've never actually carried out the accompanying threat, so you should be safe." Michael interjected. "Sorry, just wanted to explain." He backed away. Usagi looked thoughtful, then spoke up.

"I think we can trust them. If their goal was to kill us, why would they do things this way? Also, if they really believe what they say they do, they won't kill us out of hand. We would have to truly be a threat to them or to the world for them to attack us with murderous intent." Kakyuu and the starlights nodded. Ami spoke up, suddenly.

"As you know, I researched the group, and I told you some of my findings. But there were some things I wanted to save for confirmation. They have been confirmed. These young men are indeed the Death Pack. But I didn't tell you what the Death Pack do."

"Eh? What do they do?" Rei asked.

"They are the leaders of the New Shinsengumi, the largest and most feared crimefighting group in the world. The Moonfire group asks them for assignments, and even the top leaders of the Moonfire group won't risk an assignment that the Shinsengumi have claimed. And on the other side, even Mafia dons and Mob bosses are terrified of even the mention of the Shinsengumi. The men and women who make up that group attack gunmen, armed even with machine guns, with nothing but swords. And win, nine times out of ten. And these five are the leaders of that group. These men are all considered the deadliest and most skilled swordsmen in the entire world. No one has ever defeated them at swords when they unleash their full potential. What they showed us tonight is only a fraction of their power, if rumors are to be believed. No one can stop them once they reach level four."

"Level four? What does that mean?"

"They have five levels of combat: level one, what the Outers faced tonight, level two, half drawn, level three, fully drawn, level four which is when they reveal their weapons' true abilities, and level five, who no one has seen and lived to describe. We are dealing with time bombs, everyone. I suggest we tread lightly and keep them in sight." Reluctantly, Rei agreed, and the girls had reached a consensus. Almost. There was still the matter of the Outer soldiers, and the comatose Amazons. But, finally, Pluto awoke. After waking the others, they listened to the story, and agreed to ally with the Death Pack. The Amazons would be consulted when they woke.

Watching from his viewdisc, the King decided that it was time for the New Moon Princess to begin her test. He opened a warp in space and time and gazed at the woman who answered. "Ah. Its you. Remember the promise?"

"Yes."

"It's time. Send her."

"Very well. So, it begins?"

"Yes. I wish it were in your timeframe, but since this is the only opportunity for almost 5000 years where the distinct elements required for a test will be available, and she is half-mortal, shortening her lifespan, we have no choice."

"I understand. She will arrive in just a few days. She needs to pack, after all."

"Of course. No rush, but we are on a timetable. Goodbye."

"Goodbye." He closed the warp, and began to set in motion the events that would surround the girl's test. He felt bad, administering it to a six-year-old, but he had no choice. With a final look at the viewdisc, he left the control room to prepare the materials.


	18. Chapter 18

AN: I've always thought it was stupid for the girls to not tell their parents, and now I have a way to chew them out for it. Forget all that crap about "not wanting them to get involved" and remember that they actually ARE entitled to know why you're acting so strangely. So, next time I upload, get ready for the revelation!

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon isn't mine.

the next new student arrives...again.

The Outer soldiers had woken up several minutes ago, but they were still dazed by the impacts that had knocked them out. Saturn was the worst off, because of the location and power of the strike that had defeated her. But they were thoroughly convinced that an alliance was necessary. While the girls debated whether or not there should be limitations to the alliance, Michael walked over to Matthew, who was staring into his sword with a worried expression on his face.

"What's wrong, Mat?"

"Something's coming. And it's not a Shade, or one of those generals. And it isn't nearly powerful enough to be that king, so I don't know what it is." There was a flash of pink light outside, followed by the sound of footsteps. Matthew looked into his mirror, then sighed in relief. "It's just a little girl. Weird, she has pink hair..."

"Eh? What's that? Pink hair? You don't think... oh, sorry." Makoto interjected.

"It's fine. Anything you can tell us about our visitor in the fifteen seconds until she arrives?"

"Well, she's Usagi's...future daughter."

"That makes no sense whatsoever." Michael muttered.

"She's here." Matthew announced. Just as he said it, a small girl with pink pigtails burst into the room. She ran to Saturn and gave her a big hug.

"Hotaru-chan! It's been a long time! Are you feeling okay?"

"Chibiusa! I'm fine! But what are you doing here?"

"Mmm. Mom sent me here, said something about me needing to do something. But I'm apparently not supposed to get help from you guys. As far as I could tell, there's someone waiting for me, and they'll help me. Hmm? Who are you?"

"My name is Michael. We are the Death Pack, and we were just discussing an alliance with the soldiers. Are you one of them?"

"Yep! I'm Sailor Chibimoon! Oops. I don't think I was supposed to tell you..."

"It's okay. We would learn it soon, anyway. We figured out the rest, after all. So what's your story? How did you get here? Where are you from?"

"I'm from..."

"Lets not discuss that, shall we?" Interjected Haruka. "You have no need to know."

"I disagree. The alliance we propose involves a full exchange of information. We tell you everything _we_ know, you tell us everything you know. We tell you everything about us that isn't so classified even we aren't able to remember it, you tell us everything about you that doesn't fall under that category as well. Which is likely to be fairly limited, since you're essentially just average people with special abilities."

"And you aren't?"

"Not even close. We are the founders of the New Shinsengumi. Not just its leaders, as everyone assumes. We started it, and it has grown to be the largest and most deadly crimefighting organization in the world. We have more than three thousand members in literally every nation in the world. Our success rate is nearly one hundred percent. Now. What connection does this little girl have to you? And tell it plainly. No riddles."

Usagi stepped forward. "I'll tell you. She's from the future. One thousand years ahead, in fact. The world was struck by a strange disaster and everyone was frozen, which is why we're still alive then. Chibiusa is the daughter that Mamoru and I are destined to have. I know it's confusing, but..."

"No, it makes sense, now. Well, thank you for telling us. So you have agreed to the alliance?"

"Yes. We have."

"Good. That makes things easier. What I'm thinking should happen is one of us should stay with one of you for a while, to maintain ease of contact. At least until we have added you to our list of contacts. The process takes about a week, or less, depending on location. Here, it'll take three days. Now, who should be with who? Matthew?"

"Reading. You should stay with Usagi. Watch over her and that little girl until the girl's protectors arrive, then the process should be complete."

"Very well. I hope your parents won't mind the intrusion, Usagi."

"Um...I think it'll be okay. They don't know about my...identity, though, so please don't tell them."

"YOU DIDN'T TELL THEM?!?!? What the hell is wrong with you?!? You realize how stupid that is, right? The first thing we did was tell our parents, and we notify them every time we go on a mission. To do less would be to cause them grief and terror magnitudes worse than knowing your fate. If you died saving the world, what would happen? They would never know what happened to you, and would be in eternal grief, not knowing your fate. Not knowing if you'd been kidnapped, any of that. It's foolish, and irresponsible!!!! The first thng we're doing when we get to your place is tell them."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry, I didn't think about that..."

"Obviously! Well, let's go!" The two left, to whatever fate awaited Usagi at the hands of her parents after that bombshell. The rest of the group split up, the Death Pack leaving for their hotel, Matthew and Sean snickering at Michael's reaction. The soldiers departing for their homes, with the Outers deciding to recover at the shrine until they were fit to travel. Finally, they were all in their rooms, secure and happy. All of them, that is, except Usagi. 

In a small hospital room lay four figures, their strange hair and clothes hidden by the sheets. They had been sleeping for several months, but now, sensing the person they were supposed to protect, their eyes snapped open, and they stood. When the nurse checked on the room a few minutes later, it was as if there had never been any patients there. She sounded the alert, but the four girls were nowhere to be found.


	19. Chapter 19

AN: my novel writing software must hate me…twice in the same week it has saved over my story. Fortunately the backups are easy to get at. So, pressing on! Today we'll get to the halfway point. Approximately...

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon isn't mine. Special commendations to whoever can guess at the anime character that was the basis for the Death Pack! Hint: his "nemesis" has a cross shaped scar! (by the way, other than role, the character was not in any way copied to form any member of the Death Pack.)

do not cover your papers!

Michael and Usagi walked up to her front door, Chibiusa in tow. The three had stopped by the Pack's apartment to pick up his things, and in the process Michael had changed out of his ceremonial gear. In place of his kimono he now wore a simple blue jacket. Usagi opened the door, and the two girls simply charged in. Michael stayed at te doorstep, staring in bewilderment at the casualness of the family as they greeted Chibiusa. After a few moments, the brother noticed him. "Hey! Who are you, and what are you doing here? You're not Mamoru!"

"No. I'm here for professional reasons, and your daughter kindly offered me a place to stay. I hope I'm not intruding." He bowed politely to Mrs. Tsukino.

"I don't think so. I'm sure it won't be a problem, right, dear?" The mother replied, turning to the father. He thought for a moment, then nodded.

"It's alright with me. Chibiusa can sleep with Usagi, and you can have the upstairs room."

"No, don't worry about me. I'll sleep on the couch, or the floor. I won't kick the young one out of her bed. I'm terribly sorry, but could we continue this discussion inside? There's something very important that Usagi and I need to explain to you."

"You don't mean...I though she was in love with Mamoru!"

"Nothing like that. Please, may I enter?"

"Oh, of course! I'm terribly sorry!"

"Please, don't be concerned about me." He entered and shut the door. "Mr. and Mrs. Tsukino, please sit down. This is going to be a pretty hefty shock. Or not, if I didn't overestimate you." The couple sat. "Thank you. I will now introduce myself. My name is Michael, and I am known as the Wolf's Fang. I am the leader of the Death Pack, and I am here to assist Sailor Moon in neutralizing her most recent threat. Now, your daughter has something to tell you as well." He gestured, and Usagi's parents gazed at her expectantly. She blushed and looked hesitant.

"I...I'm Sailor Moon. Please don't hate me for not telling you sooner, I just didn't want you to get involved!" To Usagi's, but not Michael's, surprise, her parents burst out laughing. The brother was laughing harder than the parents. Chibiusa stood up for Usagi, but it did little to quiet the laughter. Michael turned to Usagi.

"They don't believe you. Show them."

"A-all right. Moon Eternal Makeup!" There was a brief flash of light, and suddenly Sailor Moon was standing where two seconds ago Usagi had been. The laughter stopped, followed by a stunned silence. After a moment, the father regained a small portion of his rationity, and confronted Michael.

"How can we be sure you're telling the truth about this Death Pack? Do you have any proof?"

"Of course. It would be foolish to come on a mission like this without it. Here." He reached up and removed his jacket. He reversed it, and there was the distinctive blue mountain-peak striped outfit of the Shinsengumi. And on the back was the red circle, with the symbol of the Death Pack: a moon bearing the kanji phrase "in the name of truth, we destroy evil immediately." Those symbols could not be used by anyone else as an emblem, on pain of death. It was more than sufficient proof of his identity, but there was something else. A single symbol that said simply "Fang." It was the proof of his identity as the leader. "Satisfied?" Michael asked sarcastically. The father simply nodded and sat down, his face pale. Michael returned his jacket to normal, then sat on the floor. "Now. What are you going to do? I am here to provide protection for these two girls until Chibiusa's protectors arrive, at which time I will return to my base. Matthew has predicted a three day wait. I have had little sleep lately, and so I would prefer to finish this conversation in the morning."

"O-of course. Please, let me get some bedding." the mother left.

"Thank you." He called after her. A few moments later and the mother was back with a pad and some blankets. Only a few minutes after he had prepared for bed, he was sound asleep. The family followed his advice. The entire family slept well, unaware that the King had watched the entire exchange.


	20. Chapter 20

AN: I know, its cliché, but I couldn't help myself. Anyway, I needed some way to get him into a position where he could protect them. So deal with it. Thank you for your cooperation!

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon isn't mine. I'll be expecting those answers soon, okay? Take your time. (I need to come up with a suitable prize…)

wolf in a teacher's clothing.

Morning dawned, bright and cheerful. Usagi, as usual, was late for school. Chibiusa had apparently inherited that trait as well, so she was rushing as well. Michael had, in fact, registered as a temporary substitute at Usagi's school to keep an eye on the girls. And he had received word that Alan had signed on as a sub at Chibiusa's school. Unfortunately, this had caused it's own unique problems for Michael, and required him to deal with admiring girls who were very impressed with the mysterious teacher from America. He, unlike his two new allies, was used to early schedules and was not only early, but was one of the first people at the school. On his way, he bumped into Ami, and they walked and talked together. He was impressed by her knowledge of medicine, and by her heart. He gazed down at the girl. S_he's actually pretty impressive. She managed to keep her identity secret for almost three years. And on top of that, she gets top marks and studies early college courses. Hmph. I almost dropped out of school before I told my teachers my deal. It sucked. I wonder how she deals with it._ "How do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Balance it all? You know, the world saving and school thing? I tried to keep my identity secret from my teachers and almost failed school. And before that my grades were comparable or better than yours. And I still took nearly three hours out of my schedule every day for each subject."

"Oh, well, I just study nearly all the time. And I guess I never realised how difficult it could be to balance it."

"Hmm. Well, we have a crowd. Best stop talking about this subject. Ah, hell. Here come the fangirls. If they give you trouble, let me know and they'll get an earful."

"All right." She left, but was accosted by a group of the girls almost immediately.

"Who do you think you are, getting friendly with Mike-sensei?? He's ours!" Suddenly, Michael appeared behind them.

"I thought I told you that I wouldn't tolerate any of this nonsense? Now get going or I'll have you taking sword lunges from Ryuu." The girls scattered, whining in terror. "Sheesh. Heh. That guy's fairly useful."

"Huh?"

"You see, I teach kenjutsu, temporarily. That Ryuu kid has some of the harshest lunges in the class, and he doesn't hold back for girls. Or, at least, the girls that joined the class to be near me. The rest he's actually pretty nice to. Though if I'd really wanted to be mean, I could have threatened to _demonstrate_ lunges on them. That would have gotten them to skip school."

"Why?"

"I thought you said you'd done research?"

"It didn't make any mention of your special abilities, other than the levels of your swords."

"Ah. Well, I can pierce tank armor with my thrusts. Over 1000 psi. Even at a third power and with a simple shinai, I can launch a football player over fifteen feet. It's actually pretty impressive. Obviously, I'm teaching only basic sword techniques, nothing fancy, otherwise I'd reveal too much."

"What was that about nearly losing your grip because of all the secrets?"

"That was many years and hundreds of secrets ago. Now get to class. Looks like Usagi's coming." Indeed she was. The two girls raced inside and Michael started toward his class. Suddenly he stopped. "I know you're there. Tracking that Usagi girl, huh? You know anything about her?" A dark figure appeared in the trees beside him.

"Do you?"

"Of course. I'm her ally. Will you be?"

"No. We are here for the little one. She is merely a way to find our target."

"What purpose do you have wth that girl?"

"We are her guardians."

"Ah. Well, you'll find her tomorrow. Or later tonight. Now isn't the time. Now leave. I have a class to teach, and you need to report in, unless I'm mistaken. And those girls have school. Let's continue this another time." The figure nodded, then vanished. Michael headed off to his class.


	21. Chapter 21

AN: I'm not even gonna apologise for what's coming. If you don't want to read it, skip ahead.

Disclaimer: Sailor moon isn't mine. And writing these things is gonna be really tedious, since I still have 20 chapters left…well, no help for it.

ill met by sunlight, proud wolf.

School was over. The gaggles of fangirls that surrounded Michael finally dissipated, allowing him to put in a phone call. "It's me. Any word on the registration process?"

"No, sir. It'll take at least another day. Apologies."

"It's fine. Just checking on the progress. Are the phones on the way?"

"They should arrive at your current address tonight."

"Very well. They are as ordered?"

"Of course. Also, there's something you should check out."

"Oh?"

"Yes. It appears our rivals, the Moonfire organization, have contacted the girls."

"Oh, indeed?"

"Yes sir."

"This is the perfect opportunity to find out if they are truly as corrupt as our sources believe."

"Indeed. Then, if there's nothing else..."

"No. Signing off." He hung up and started to walk to the Tsukino house. On his way, he met a young man who seemed to be waiting for someone. Michael paid little attention to him and kept going. Then, he realised the man was waiting near the Tsukino house. He turned to the man. "Hello. Who are you?"

"Chiba Mamoru. I'm Usagi's boyfriend."

"Ah. Good choice. I prefer the cold, semi-gothic types myself though..."

"So, who are you? And where do you live? I've never seen you around here before."

"I'm staying with the Tsukino's. It's something professional. I'm probably not supposed to tell you anything else, but I may be wrong. My name is Michael. I'm from America, if you haven't guessed."

"Huh. Wait...you're staying with Usagi? Has anything...strange happened?"

"Oh, so you DO know about her, then?"

"Her what?"

"Her being Sailor Moon. I figured it out a couple days ago, thanks to some quick snoop work by my subordinates. That, and the fact that we're currently allied with the soldiers."

"She hasn't told me any of this, but then we've been out of touch for the past little while because of school. So, what do you know about the others?"

"Pretty much everything they told me. Which, with the exception of Uranus, Neptune, and the Starlights, was actually a pretty good amount. They unfortunately wouldn't say anything about that Tuxedo Mask guy. Said it was his place, not theirs. Ah well. I'm pretty sure I've got it figured out. Huh?"

"Listen, if you do anything to hurt Usagi..." Mamoru stood right in Michael's face and tried to look intimidating. Michael didn't even react, but his eyes were suddenly cold and deadly.

"Don't worry, man. She's safer with me in that house than if there was an entire squad of marines. Unless she eventually gets into a situation where she won't make the right decision. In which case, I will do whatever is necessary."

"I won't let you hurt her!" Suddenly, Mamoru transformed into Tuxedo Mask!

"Oh, indeed? I thought so. Lucky you, all I have is this bokuto. I'll warn you, I defeated Saturn the other day. So, let's do this thing, yes?"


	22. Chapter 22

AN: Coming soon! Expendable idiots that the Death Pack can play with without any qualms! But they don't get the first wack…

Disclaimer: Sailor moon isn't mine. If you haven't figured that out yet…

stop fighting with your partners! oops.

Endymion had been considered one of the greatest swordsmen of the ancient Three Kingdoms. Even Tuxedo Mask, who wasn't fully a fully awakened version, was nothing to laugh at. But his European, fencing-based fighting style was barely effective against Michael's original Japanese-based style, with its strange twists and turns. Within two minutes of the fight's start, Tuxedo Mask was on the defensive, and a minute after that he was barely keeping his cane in the path of the bokudo. He slammed into the wall and just stood there for a moment to catch his breath. After about ten seconds, he charged! This time he was driving Michael back. But it didn't last long. After only a few swings, Michael was pressing him back a second time, but much more ferociously than before. Tuxedo Mask tried to execute a parry, but the counterswing slammed him into a lamppost. He barely dodged the follow-up thrust that slammed the bokudo nearly a quarter of its length into the post. He stared at the bokuto as Michael pulled it out of the post. It was seemingly undamaged from being driven through the steel. Michael grinned and settled the blade on his shoulder. "Are you still sure you want to fight me?" Tuxedo Mask's response was to rush at Michael at top speed. Michael's eyes hardened as he settled into the stance of his deadliest attck: the Ryugatotsu. The Dragon Fang thrust. He took a right back stance and held his bokudo at the very end of the hilt with his right hand. Then, he drew his left hand out to the tip of the sword. Tuxedo Mask was unaware of the danger, so he continued to charge. He was surprised when Michael also charged, but at a much greater speed. Michael thrust the sword forward, and Tuxedo Mask swung viciously. Suddenly, a voice cried "STOP!!!!" The two combatants skidded to a halt. It was Usagi. She raced to Tuxedo Mask and threw her arms around him. She gazed at Michael, terror stamped on her features. "Why would you hit him like that?" She asked, her voice quavering. Michael grimaced, then bowed politely.

"I apologize. I got caught up in the fight. You're pretty good, my friend. I haven't been that into a fight since I took on the leader of the enemy forces almost a week ago. Before that, I had never been that into it. But she's right. If I had hit you with that strike, you'd be dead or dying."

"What?" Tuxedo Mask gasped.

"If I had hit you with that attack, it would have crushed your ribs, shattered your collarbone, and collapsed your lung. If I hit the right place, your heart would have stopped. Such an attack I would usually never use except on a truly dangerous enemy. I am impressed, but I'm certain you are far more so. Do you trust me with your little girlfriend now, or are you going to attack me again?"

"No. I trust you..."

"Good man! Let's be allies, huh? We've already allied with the soldiers, so since you are an ally of theirs, this is really just a formalization. Ally of my ally is another ally, right?"

"Right..."

"Okay, then. Lets get to the sharing of stories! Er, well, maybe we should do that inside."

"Mm." They entered Usagi's house, and Tuxedo Mask detransformed. After a quick storytelling session, Michael and Mamoru parted as friends. Michael called in a report to the rest of the Pack, updating them on Mamoru's connection to the girls and giving them an assessment of his skill. Once it had been logged, they returned to their quiet watching and waiting. 

The image in the viewdisc flickered, and the King sighed. "Endymion, your skills are lacking. I guess you haven't fully awakened, have you? Ah, well. I guess it's good. It gives me a chance to bring in my expendable Generals." He turned to a line of men and women that were chained up behind him. He smiled, and spoke one word: "Awaken." Their eyes opened, and they began to yell in anger and rage. "Silence!" he roared. "You have no more rights! You have been sentenced to death for your crimes. However, this death will not be traditional. I need you to provide minions for the test. To the one who manages to defeat that man there will go a full pardon! The rest will be slain in the final battle. Do I make my offer clear?" The grins and taunts that greeted this news affirmed its effectiveness. He smiled. It was time for Endymion to regain his old skill.


	23. Chapter 23

AN: I finally figured out the "prizes" for my little thing. The first person to answer the question will get:

an exclusive full description of the Death Pack (which I left out of this story on purpose), permission to use them in a story, and the ultimate: exclusive sneak peeks of my next stories! First story: one I haven't named yet, but is unique in that it can be written as an original story or a fanfic. The other one is an original story I am currently in the process of writing. It is called Hitokiri, and is about a post-apocalypse warrior who has the power of a god of war, but a horrible curse to balance it. And, if I'm in a good mood, and have it up, I'll also give you the first chapter in my story, Somnambulist, the first story I wrote to exceed 100 pages. The runners-up will receive chapters of the stories, based on place, to be determined later. Sorry for the long note…

the written portion will begin momentarily.

The King, disguised as the Moonfire group leader, was sitting at his desk, waiting. It was almost time for Sailor Moon's next appointment. The time came and went, and he kept waiting. After a few moments, there was a call from his secretary announcing Sailor Moon. The girl poked her head around the door cautiously, expecting another photo session. She was about to duck back, when a voice from behind her snarled "Just get inside. We don't have time for this. If they take pictures, they take pictures. We can take the film and burn it later." The door flew open, and Michael marched in, half dragging Sailor Moon by her arm. The King started, then relaxed. Michael prowled around the office like a nervous wolf, picking things up and searching them, before finally settling down next to a painting. It was a stunning space scene, with a strange ship floating in the darkness, and the name at the bottom was familliar. "Huh. Michiru-dono painted this. She's pretty good. She could make a fortune with just two or three paintings."

"Indeed she could. Now, I assume you are a friend of Sailor Moon?" The King asked, frost in his tone. Frost that went completely unnoticed by the young warrior.

"More an ally. I'm mostly here to satisfy my curiosity."

"About what?"

"My contacts have been passing rumours of corruption in this group for quite some time, and I wanted to find out if they were true. Please don't mind me. Get on with your meeting. I won't draw any attention to myself." He proceeded to begin a thorough search of the office, never once entering either person's field of vision for more than two seconds. 

The King reached into a drawer in his desk and pulled out a huge stack of papers. Sailor Moon jerked back in shock. He smiled and handed her the papers. She gazed at them, uncomprehending. He explained them with a simple set of instructions. "These are the files required to join the group. See, these first pages detail you past efforts, these here detail your aids, you know, who helps you. These ones are the main petition for joining, and this one is a simple quiz that you, as the leader, need to finish. It'll test your problem solving and decision-making skills. You can get help only from the leaders of other groups, they don't need to be members to help you, but you cannot ask me or any of my staff for help on any of the forms. Now, I have a lot to do, so if you would leave, it would be much appreciated. Come visit me again at the same time next week, and I'll see how far you are. I don't want it taking more than two weeks, though."

"Okay..." She got up, and the two left, Sailor Moon already exclaiming about the load. Michael paused and looked back at the king. He smiled slightly, then left. The King smiled tightly to himself. _You haven't changed. Neither of you have. The only one that really changed at all is Endymion, and that may be just a result of his corruption at the hands of Metaria and Nehelenia. Well, let's see how Sailor Moon does on this part of the test. Once she "joins," I will make certain to give her quite a bit of the decision-making process for this area. The second part of the test has now begun. The entire test is now under way. It's almost time for me to be discovered. I think Michael already has an idea of our base, but he won't share it yet. He'll wait for confirmation first. At least two more weeks, and by then the second part should be well underway, preventing any activity for at least three more weeks. And so, the test will last a year. Good. Exactly as planned. Now, time to fully awaken my ancient rival, Endymion. This will be tricky, but it is possible._ He turned to the viewdisc he had placed on his desk and ordered "Release them. It's time."


	24. Chapter 24

AN: its been a while, hasn't it? Well, no one's responded to my "contest" so I declare it over. No one wins. However, I just had an awesome ten days, so to commemorate I'm going to upload the next 7 chapters. After this upload, only 12 to go! Yay!

anger, anger...

The man was watching her, always watching. She was lovely, but that wasn't the only thing that was making him watch her. She was alone, and vulnerable. At least, so she seemed. He easily persuaded her into an alley, and was just getting ready to succumb to his desire, when he noticed her eyes. They were hollow and had no pupils, but there was a malice there that showed him his mistake. Too late. She leapt at him and bit deep into his throat as long needle teeth replaced her human ones. Her skin turned black, not African black, but space black. Long needle-sharp claws emerged from her nails and she was revealed as a demon. Grey horns crowned her head and spines crested her shoulders and ran down her back and chest, emphasizing the black necklace she wore. She devoured the man as if he were a gazelle and she a lioness. The police found her there, having just finished her meal, and she ran out of the alley, trailing blood from her claws and fangs. As she ran, she hunted down the man she was ordered to kill. 

In another part of town, a yakuza group had bitten off more than they could chew. Their intended victim had pulled a strange gun from his belt and was counting ammunition into it. He gazed lovingly at it, then opened fire on the gang. Ten seconds later, there were seven dead bodies lying on the ground in a wide entrapment pattern and he was licking his wounds, literally. His tongue snaked out to lick the blood from the three gunshot wounds he had sustained, and gradually they healed. Drawn by the blood, the demon woman appeared. "You are not him...you are one of usss..." she hissed.

"Indeed I am. Going about in your true form? That seems somewhat careless."

"I had to feed. I will return to my disguise now, though. Good hunting." She resumed her human form, wearing sunglasses to hide the hollowness in her eyes, then left. The gunman turned to resume his search, the necklace jangling around him, and reminding him of his new master. 

The huge man seemed incredibly stupid, but his size left little doubt that he was immensely powerful. The smaller man that lead him seemed highly intelligent, but there was something wrong with him. His ears were long and pointed, and there was a greenish tint to his skin. His command of the giant was absolute, and as they marched through the city, the light glistened off the identical necklaces the two wore. 

Atop the highest point in town, a single man stood, his blood-red robes and cloak obscuring his features. The necklace that he wore was prominent, a sign of his reliance on its powers. The strange symbols that covered his cloak shone with an eerie light even in the noon sun. He gazed down at the city, his eyes distant with a reminiscence of a similar city that he had destroyed nearly a thousand years ago. Then he spotted his prey. He noted the other hunters closing in on it, and decided to allow them to wear the man out first. He settled back to watch the fight.


	25. Chapter 25

AN: its always kinda bothered me how Endymion (Mamoru) never gets any new forms or anything except when he turned evil in the first season, and eventually ends up taking a backseat role to chibiusa. So, I gave him some stuff that might make him fairly happy. And to you Endymion fans, you're welcome. He is now cool. (ish)

no sleeping in class!

Mamoru was walking home from the hospital, where he had just had his bruises patched up, and was feeling good. He had lost, sure, but the enemy had been forced to go all out. That in itself was a victory. Suddenly, a beautiful woman fell into step beside him. They walked in silence for a moment, then a man with a crazy glint in his eyes began to follow them. The girl stepped up her pace, and the man did as well. Mamoru realized what was going on, and tried to swerve into the path of the follower. Unfortunately, a huge man led by shorter man with odd skin tint appeared right in his path. They were herding him somewhere. Then, he saw the necklaces they were wearing. He swore softly to himself, then settled in to find out what was going on.

The four generals led him off to a deserted field in some neighborhood. The man with the crazy expression smirked. "To the one who can beat you goes an impressive prize! We're here to try for it. It's nothing personal, we just have orders from the King. Sorry." He pulled his gun out from his sleeve and took aim. Mamoru started, then pulled a rose from his shirt. He transformed into Tuxedo Mask, then prepared to dodge the bullets as the man took aim. But they weren't bullets. Beams of energy flashed towards him, not very rapidly, but there were dozens of them in each salvo. Tuxedo Mask leapt over them, then dodged as suddenly the woman leapt at him, transforming into some sort of demon thing. He barely avoided her claws, but was nearly crushed when the large man leapt at him, his form melting and reforming into a toad as he did so. The gunman also transformed, his appearance that of a large chameleon. The small man that had led the toad-creature had also altered, he was now tall and gangling with deep green skin and large blue eyes. He laughed as the toad creature turned to face Tuxedo Mask again.

He was in trouble. But he couldn't call for help. He couldn't bring the girls into this, and he wasn't about to look weak in front of that Michael guy a second time that day. It was him against all four of these creatures. He stood and brandished his cane.

"Nothing personal, eh? Well, I'm sorry, but this is personal to me. I cannot lose!" He charged, going first for the chameleon. The creature lashed out with its tongue, and fired the strange gun again. But it was useless. Tuxedo Mask drove its head into the ground, and it lay still, dead, with blood seeping from a deep haed injury. The demon girl gazed at the corpse, then tears came to her dead eyes and she screamed in hatred. She ran at Tuxedo Mask and threw herself at him, trying to skewer him with her needle claws. The martian had at the same moment made a strange gesture, and the toad creature leaped high into the air. Tuxedo Mask barely dodged the toad, but the demon girl wasn't so lucky. The toad landed full on her and crushed her like a grape. The toad turned to face Tuxedo Mask again, and this time it lashed out with its tongue, again in response to a gesture from the martian. Tuxedo Mask noticed this, and charged the martian. The toad was caught flat-footed, as was the martian. It took three blows from the cane before it fell. The toad creature just sat there, watching the martian die. Then, suddenly, it went berserk! It slammed into the fence around the place, but wasn't strong enough to punch through, so it backed up to try again. There was a flicker of movement, and blood sprayed from its throat.

A man wearing a blood-red cloak appeared behind it, and it collapsed into bloody gelatin. The man smirked, and tuxedo mask fell back in horror. This man was nothing like the others he had just faced. This man had power! It was immense, and was more frightening still due to the necklace draped over his neck. Tuxedo Mask stared at the man, then a voice echoed in his head. "Awaken! Regain your former glory, Prince of the Kingdom of Earth!" Memories flashed through his mind, everything he had lost in the car wreck. His clothing changed, going from a tuxedo to a set of full armor. The armor was black and grey, with a white robe flowing from two pins in the shape of the earth and a helmet instead of a mask. His cane shifted into a broadsword, and he gained a shield in the shape of a globe. His seed increased, as he realized when he dodged a blast of energy the stranger launched from his mouth. His strength and agility had increased as well, and he was more confident in his swordsmanship. The stranger drew a long sword and assumed a fighting stance. Endymion, now fully awakened, smiled confidently and also assumed a combat stance. The two combatants met in a flurry of swords and motion. The fight was vastly different from Tuxedo Mask's earlier defeat by Michael. Both fighters now used a European style, but instead of being fencing-based, it was the ancient art of broadsword fighting, far faster and more deadly, with heavy slashes and rushes instead of thrusts and lunges. Also, it was far more mobile. Endymion used his shield to its full extent, and battered the stranger mercilessly with it. But the man gave as good as he got, and the two were evenly matched. The man stepped back, panting. "I can see now why the others lost to you! But I am not human! This is just a form I use because my real form is extremely difficult to maintain. Behold! The Blood Dragon!" And he began to shift. His neck stretched out to massive lengths, thickening as it did so. His arms and legs extended and widened, and his body reformed itself. After only a couple of moments, the man was gone and in his place was a huge European Dragon with scales the colour of the man's robes. Endymion stared, then the voice echoed in his head again.

"You have a far stronger Dragon as your ally, remember? Harness his strength! Feel his eagerness for battle! Destroy this foul abomination!" He gazed down at his sword. There, etched into the blade, was the image of a Dragon, breathing flame and rearing on its hind legs. On an impulse, he plunged the sword into the ground and intoned "Rise, oh Stone Dragon, Guardian of the Planet Earth! Aid me in this war and crush the enemies of the planet!" He drew the sword from the ground, and a huge brown dragon followed it. It stood above him, imposing and powerful. Then it opened its eyes, and the sheer weight of its age drove the red Dragon to all fours, then to its stomach. It shook itself, and stood shakily. Then it reared onto its hind legs and charged the brown Dragon! Endymion, having recovered slightly from this strange apparition, yelled at his Dragon to attack. It roared, and unleashed a blast of energy from its mouth. The energy obliterated the red Dragon, leaving a wisp of smoke in its wake. The brown Dragon turned its head to face Endymion, and he stepped back, certain he would be no match for it. It opened its mouth, and he raised his shield, expecting the worst, but it didn't come. Instead the dragon spoke! "Ah, master. It has been too long since you last summoned me! You have changed. You must be a future self of Endymion, else you wouldn't be so similar, yet so different. Interesting."

"Ah, thank you for the help, sir."

"'Sir?' My, it's been too long! I guess you don't really remember me, huh? It's understandable, but I should have thought you remembered from how you summoned me. Here, I'll refresh your memory." With that, he began to glow, then turned into a flash of light and dove into Endymion. Quickly searching his brain, the dragon appeared in his vision, though it wasn't really there. "Ah, here we are. See, your first meeting with me! You were so scared, it was really rather funny." A young Endymion, hiding behind his father's cloak, gazed at a younger version of the Dragon. Much younger. It was smoother, and had fewer crags in its scales, and seemed less powerful. Then, the memory faded. The Dragon chuckled. "You were so innocent. It was humorous, really. ah, here we have your first attempt to control me. It was pitiful, but since you were only eleven at the time, I was impressed by your determination. Oh, and here we have your first meeting with that Moon girl. Huh. I remember her. You're not still together, are you?"

"Of course we are!"

"Good. Good. I liked her; lively, spunky, energetic. Very different from you, but still very much like you. I approved, but no one listens to a Dragon. I hope you will be more liable to listen to me, after you pass your ooops! Not supposed to mention that, until you've finished it. My bad. Forget I said that. Oh look, there's when you finally learned to control me. I think it was mostly to impress Serenity, but then, that was probably why I thought you were ready to control me. Now, here's...oh. So that's what happened. And you were on the Moon, out of my reach...I'm so sorry. I'll leave your memories, now. I didn't mean to bring up that memory. Well, if you need me again, you know how to summon me. And to call my powers to you directly, just place the sword tip at your heart and say the same thing. Or just call my name. I prefer that, it's less long-winded."

"Your name...oh! Terra!"

"Indeed. Well done! Just remember that! And your heritage, and you should do just fine."

"Thank you...Terra!" The Dragon winked, and vanished, then became a beam of light again and dove into the ground, vanishing completely. Endymion watched him go, then detransformed into Mamoru and went to talk to Usagi. 

The King was watching. It had been close, but he had been able to reach the Dragon in time. He chuckled. Endymion had been such a nice young man, and had been a worthy rival for the prince of the New Moon. Now, he was once again what he used to be. He was at full strength, and a match for all of the testers, except for the king himself. Good. It was time for the young one to begin her test. He turned to another of the criminals. "It's time. You know the target?"

"Yes, my King."

"Good. Go." The creature vanished, leaving a sense of cloying darkness. The king smiled, and turned back to the viewdisc. The protectors were in place. It was time to begin the end. He smiled, and this smile was beautiful, lighting the room like nothing else could. "It's time to rebuild the kingdom, my old friends. Let's do a good job, shall we?"


	26. Chapter 26

AN: now, I don't actually know anything about the quartet's sailor forms, so I just assigned them powers based on how they were in the dream mirror arc. Remember, I only had limited access to info for this story, so just take some of it as unavoidable. And yes, the Alan-sensei in this chapter IS the one that owned Neptune a few chapters ago. Just in case that wasn't clear. Also, apologies for the break-off in updates, I hit my document limit, and had to shut the computer off before I got to delete them. Then, it was quite a while before I had a chance to come to this site. (Not that anyone probably cares.)(About the updates, I mean.)

"Usagi! Why were you sleeping?"

"I'm sorry, Alan-sensei! It won't happen again!"

"It had better not. Now, please turn to page thirteen of the English language manual." Class resumed as normal. Chibiusa sat there, half listening as she pondered her dream. Who was that man, and what connection did he have with that demon? Why had that thing pursued her, only to speak to her? And what did that man mean when he said the punishment for defeat was death? And allies? What allies? She groaned inwardly and decided to ignore it until after school.

The bell rang, and school was out. She ran to the street and started for home. Alan followed at a distance for a while, then left to report in. Nearly immediately after he was gone, a strange creature appeared before Chibiusa. It hissed angrily. It was a conglomeration of animals: a snake, a leopard, and a bird. It had a human face, and looked almost like a woman. But the weirdest thing about it was that it was made of black ice! Chibiusa faced it without fear, immediately transforming into Sailor Chibimoon. The creature attacked, sending a barrage of icicles at the small girl. She dodged most of them, but one hit her and sent her flying. Suddenly, a small tuft of grass in the sidewalk balloned out into a pillow, catching her and preventing her from getting hurt. A huge sphere of metal struck the creature full in the face and launched it into the brick wall that lined the path. It snarled in anger, and rushed at the girl again, but a lion appeared in front of it and met the charge. Sailor Chibimoon stared in awe as four familiar figures landed in front of her. The Amazoness Quartet had returned! Chibimoon stood, half glad and half frightened. Junjun bent over. "Are you alright, Small Lady?" Chibimoon nodded. "Good. Let's take this thing out, huh?" Another nod. Pallapalla smiled and created another huge sphere. Junjun's fist crackled with energy, and she slammed it into the ball. Pallapalla hurled it at the creature, but it dodged the attack. The grass suddenly lengthened and grabbed the ball. the grass began swinging the sphere like a mace, and the creature was hard pressed to keep up. the lion leapt up at it, and it was distracted for a fatal half second. The ball slammed into it full force, driving it into the ground and electrocuting it. The four girls turned to Chibimoon. "Finish it off, Chibimoon!" they cried in unison. She nodded, and stepped forward. then she realized that she had no effective attacks! She groaned, and turned sadly to the girls.

"I can't! My attacks aren't strong enough on my own!"

"You can do it! You are the future Queen of the New Moon! Call upon your Dragon ally!" She gazed at her small little wand, then, suddenly, her eyes went blank and she seemed to be conversing with something. Then, her eyes refocused and she spun around.

"New Moon Dragon; Silent Crescent!" she cried, and a smaller version of Sailor Moon's dragon shot from the wand and struck the creature, destroying it. Chibimoon turned to the Quartet hesitantly. "Are you guys okay now?"

"We're fine. We're here to protect you. We're your Sailor Guardians. We were fooled by that monster into believing that we were protecting you by taking on his necklaces. Now we are here to correct that mistake!"

"Yay! I'm so happy! So you guys are here to stay?"

"Yes. But your path lies in a different place from here. You need to say a temporary goodbye to your friends here, and come with us for training."

"Where will we go?"

"The land of dreams is suffering the same attacks as this world. You are needed to defeat that enemy. Helios asked for you specifically."

"He did? All right! I'll just say goodbye to everyone. Come with me! I'm sure everyone will be happy to see you again!"

"Pallapalla would love to see them again! Let's go!" Pallapalla cried as the five girls raced to the tsukino home, unaware that Mamoru was there now, as were the rest of the soldiers and the Death Pack. They were simply going to say goodbye to Usagi before departing.

"Well done, girls. Now. It's time for her test, gentlemen. Remember that it is seperate from Serenity's. Is it progressing satisfactorily?" The King asked the panel of judges.

"Indeed it is. Well done. We have begun a seperate card for her. You are doing an excellent job. Thank you."

"Thank you. And so, the dream land is under attack by one of my expendable soldiers, one who can manipulate dreams. It will be relatively simple to defeat him, but that is not their test. they will finish this test, then join the other soldiers in the final battle. That is when we will return to more than cursory monitoring. This is really just to ensure that they are as capable as the others."

"Very well. We are monitoring her ourselves, anyway. part of her grade will be this battle, after all."

"Of course. Well, I will leave you to your grading then." The king turned and left, allowing the panel to discuss the progress of the test in peace. They were all amazed at the effectiveness of the test, and they were certain that it would not be easy for the girls to pass. Mamoru, on the other hand, was far more powerful than they had thought. He would be a threat to the grades of the others. He would need to be limited. But then they noticed something, and their fears eased. The king had planned for it. As he had for everything. They returned to their monitoring.


	27. Chapter 27

AN: I needed to get rid of chibiusa, and the idea popped into my head to send her to the dream world. So, there she went. And the "creed" of the shinsengumi is made up. Get ready for some alone time with the Pack, everyone.

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon, but the Death Pack are my toys.

leave the room, please. your test is graded seperately.

Matthew was gazing into a mirror, as usual. He suddenly straightened. "It's time. They are here." At that exact moment, Chibiusa and the Quartet burst into the house.

"Usagi! Usagi! Usagi..." Her voice trailed off as she saw the massive crowd in the room. Michael stood. "Okay, now that you are all gathered, it's time to announce that we finally are able to add you to our contact lists. We have one cell phone for each of you, including you five." The members of the Pack went around handing out the phones as he spoke. "As you can see, they can contact each other, not just us. Also, you will find a contact named 'Base.' this is the Shinsengumi main headquarters. Call it only in certain situations, as they will give you reinforcements and supplies. They will also give you advice and information on request. You are authorised to requisition anything from one man all the way up to two hundred, and any information available in our database that is not classified by a government. If you abuse the privilege, the headquarters staff will cut off your access to any and all information, including on other phones. That is all. Now, I believe Chibiusa has something to say." She stepped forward and explained her situation in a rush, ending with a breathless "Canigocanicanicani?" Usagi and Mamoru looked at each other.

"Of course you can. If that world needs your help, we won't stop you. But be careful. And don't do anything rash, okay?" Michael glanced at matthew, who simply shrugged.

"Well, I guess the cell phones will be fairly useless, huh? Well, you can use a mirror to contact Mattew for advice and information. Good luck, and don't let your guard down." The starlights gazed at her, then knelt around her and saluted her. Princess Kakyuu gave her a hug, and patted her on the head.

"Good luck. These monsters are nothing to be trifled with." Chibiusa stared all around her at these familiar, and not so familiar, faces, and smiled.

"I'll be fine! I know you guys are all waiting for me! Thank you all so much!" Cerecere came up and put her hand on Chibiusa's shoulder.

"It's time. We need to go."

"Okay!" The five girls left, and Matthew looked into his mirror.

"We'll see them again, at the final battle. It is coming. prepare yourselves. Oh, and Mamoru has something on his mind as well." Mamoru started, then looked down.

"Yes. Today I was attacked by several generals. But they weren't very powerful, or at least, most of them weren't. But there was one who was absolutely incredible. He was a Dragon in human form, and he was amazing. But then, right before he attacked me as a Dragon, I heard a voice. It told me to awaken, and suddenly, my outfit changed! Instead of a tuxedo, I was wearing armour. Then, I summoned a Dragon of my own. A huge brown creature that obliterated the general in a single breath. Then, it entered my memories and brought forth several memories of it. Then, it showed me by accident the memory of the day the Kingdoms were destroyed. The day Serenity and Endymion died. It mentioned something interesting. It said that I needed to finish something, or pass something, but was stopped by something I couldn't see. I did some searching of my memories, but couldn't come up with any clues. Also, it said that it approved of Serenity and Endymion, but was ignored. I remember it saying that it thought it was a good thing that the two Kingdoms were on the verge of joining. But it was silenced by Endymion's father. But there is no memory as to what the Dragon was talking about, concerning passing something. I mean. I wish I knew more, but it's strange enough as it is."

Michael turned to Matthew, but then seemed to decide against asking him, and instead reached over and took the mirror.

"You've been staring into that damn thing long enough. Time for some footwork. Let's see if we can determine where exactly those girls are going, also. I have an idea of where the enemy base is. I want to confirm it, and I'll need you fully aware for this."  
"Yes, sir." Matthew immediately straightened and his eyes cleared. He smiled, and the sense of worry that surrounded him faded. He was cool and competent, and fully aware of the situation. The soldiers had never seen him like this, ever. The Pack, on the other hand, treated it as nothing special. Michael turned to him.

"So, you ready for some hacking?"

"Sounds fun sir."

"Good. I'm gonna infiltrate the Moonfire headquarters tonight, and I need the security down."

"You got it, sir." The five men left, discussing the planned break-in. Suddenly, Mamoru stood up and marched after Michael.

"Hey, you. You'd better be sure. This battle isn't going to end easily, and accurate information is necessary."

"Are you questioning my abilities?" Michael asked, half turning, his eyes cold and deadly.

"Yes."

"Let me tell you the code of the Death Pack when it comes to information gathering.'The Wolf's nose detects the secret, its ears track its movement, its eyes locate the secret in the dark, its paws seek it out, and its fangs drag it into the light.' Less than two days after we arrived in Japan we knew everything there was to know about your friends. All the way from where they lived to how many times they'd gone on an airplane or taken a taxi. Our information sources are the best in the world, and we, as the founders, are a large part of the process. I personally saw something in that office that makes me suspicious. My instincts are rarely wrong. We are going to help you save the world. Are you ready for our help?"

"What do you mean?"

"We live by but one rule: Aku Soku San. Swift death to evil. Our swords are sharp, and they are used heavily. We are warriors. If you are not comfortable with killing your foes, then our methods are beyond you. We kill our enemies because then it prevents further harm. From our research, we see that you have allowed every single one of your enemies to live. This is unacceptable now that we are your allies. If you cannot accept this, we are no longer allies. And we will simply execute the enemy after you have defeated them. At that point we will likely cut you down as well. Consider well what we are saying. We will not ask for a decision, we will simply allow you to show us your choice when the time comes. So, until you need us, farewell." And with that, they vanished.


	28. Chapter 28

AN: I know, I know. Long winded blah-blah-fest. I needed a way to do some development of these guys somehow. So deal with it. (Hopefully it won't happen too often in the future.) And the end section is kinda out-of-order with the upcoming chapters, but not too bad.

Disclaimer: I'm not the creator of sailor moon. Hence me writing FANFICTION. But I did make up most of this.

written portion. but first, a class discussion.

The Starlights came forward, watching the five men fade into the traffic. Fighter, in her disguise as Seiya, snorted. "Huh. Where do they get off, saying things like that? Yeah, they're great fighters, and yeah, they've been through a lot, but what gives them the right to say that they will kill us if we don't do things their way?" Haruka stepped forward. She was staring after the Death Pack as if seeing something else. Then she turned to Michiru. "You see it, don't you?" She asked. Michiru nodded.

"They're just like we were, before we met Sailor Moon. Only they're stronger, and they've been fighting the power of evil humans instead of monsters."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Seiya snapped.

"We fought monsters for almost a year before we joined the rest of the soldiers. Fighting monsters, even creatures that used to be human, doesn't affect you after a while. Soon, its just another creature that needs to be eliminated, like an extermination job. But those five men have fought nothing but humans for who knows how long. Such conflict can change someone. Drastically. They probably started out kind and gentle, maybe even sparing some of the less rabid followers of their enemies. But now...now, they are changed. They are becoming the very thing they have fought against for the past several years. Eventually they will have no choice but to stop fighting. And when they reach that point, they will have only one thing to live for: the prospect of a successor. Those men are like swords; they are sharp, and strong, and made for only one purpose. And when that purpose is no longer required, they are shelved until they are needed again. I think we can understand their bitterness. But their insistence on killing evil concerns me. It could mean that they have no fear of death. In that case, they have nothing to lose and so could get seriously injured in the fight, or worse."

"But wouldn't they be prepared for that?" Haruka interrupted Michiru's monologue. "I mean, they have been facing life and death situations longer than we have. I'm willing to bet that any fear of dying they once had is now gone."

"True, but they do fear death. They fear dying without leaving a proper legacy, or dying only to leave the world in the hands of evil people, or even just incompetent people. Thus, they use any means necessary to survive, and that is why they are slowly becoming what they hate. It's not a question of their skill, or their experience. It's a question of heart. These men are losing heart, and they can feel the weight of the darkness clouding them. They are in a hurry to do any good they can before they cannot do any more good. But the race to the final conclusion is wearing them out, making the end come even faster."

"What does that mean?" Yaten snapped. "You're talking in riddles!"  
"Sorry. Basically, those five are trying to do good, but they are under a time limit for the good they can do. Eventually, they will become exactly like the people they fight against. When that happens, they will no longer be a positive force and will have no choice but to stop fighting. And so, they try to do as much good as they can before that happens. This struggle is doing little but hastening the approach of the time when they won't be able to fight. I feel sorry for them, in a way. They live for no other purpose but to fight evil in the world, but they only have a certain amount of time before they're no longer able to do so. Their lives are almost a waste." Michiru expanded. Usagi sat on her couch, pondering this. Suddenly she stood.

"Everyone, we need to make an effort to make those guys feel like they are accepted. It must be a horrible feeling for them, to know that every day your life gets less and less meaningful. So, let's help them, okay?" The rest of the group nodded, some more eagerly than others. Usagi suddenly sat down and looked embarrased. "Now, could someone please help me with these papers?" 

It took Usagi, Kakyuu and Mamoru nearly three hours to do the first half of the test. The rest of the soldiers sat around and waited, occasionally providing small peices of data that were hard to remember. Usagi often also called Michael for help with wording and such, but since he was busy planning his assault on the Moonfire group's base, he wasn't able to say much, and what little he did say was curt and harsh. After they finished that section of the test, they decided to call it quits until the next day. At this, the soldiers split up, each going their seperate way. Usagi gazed at the paperwork in front of her, and noticed a section. It had additional instructions on it: "Applicant may not ask for aid on this section, and may not show answers to anyone but Moonfire group representative." She moaned, and took it to her room to fill it out. It was hard, and long, but she pressed on and finally finished it around midnight. She stayed up another hour thinking, and so she was exceptionally tired the next morning. She dragged through the day, cheering up only at the request of her friends. Soon, she was back to the paperwork. 

The king watched her struggles with a half-amused smile on his face. The paperwork section was never the easiest part of the test, and he had given her a particularly difficult version. But, soon she finished, even managing to turn it in a couple of days early. He was impressed. And so were the judges.


	29. Chapter 29

AN: I'm Christian, but I try not to write "religious" stories. However, I needed some way to explore these guys properly, and since I had already determined their Christianity, this was as good a way as any. Also, I am not politically correct. Ergo, if you whine, I'll laugh at you. So, enjoy the character study.

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon isn't mine. But the story is.

heart of the pack, part 1: confession.

The cathedral resonated with hymns as Alan approached it. He watched the faces of the people who left it, and could tell that the priest was doing confessions. He muted his MP3 player and thought for a moment. As he thought, he remembered the scene that had caused him to go wandering. 

Michael had been understanding, and so had Matthew, but Sean could be vicious sometimes, and Timothy's constant conviction was little help. Michael had proposed the simple approach, and Matthew had confirmed it, _without_ his mirror, something that was getting increasingly rare. Alan had been all for the idea, but a bitter comment from Sean, reminding Alan of the last time he had proposed a plan, had nearly crushed Alan's flagging spirit. Alan, who hadn't felt very good about crushing those girls the other day, and had felt really bad about threatening them earlier, had argued against Michael's harshness. Sean, angry at having been left out of the fight, and annoyed at how Alan was, as he put it, "harping" on the threat, had lashed out angrily. The entire group had frozen. That had been dangerously close to the enemy. Sean had realised this, and had immediately apologised and tried to change the subject, but the damage had been done. The five men, especially Alan, who was never extremely happy with the lot the group had, were reminded of the weight they had pressing down on them. Michael had immediately sent them out on reconnaisance, requesting a rendezvous in three hours outside the Moonfire Headquarters. And so, Alan found himself wandering around the downtown, near a Catholic curch, of all things. He was Catholic, not very strong, not as strong as Sean was a Baptist, but nonetheless Catholic. He decided to go in, see if the preist was willing to offer some counseling.

He entered the cathedral, and the hymns jumped in volume. He made the cross with the holy water, then went to the confessional. Someone was already in there, so he sat in a pew nearby to wait. After about five minutes, a woman left the confessional, her eyes shining. The priest also left, shaking his head, and noticed Alan. "Oh, my son, are you here to confess?" he asked politely.

"No, Father. I come seeking counsel. If this is a bad time, I could come later..." Alan replied.

"Please, enter. Whether it is confession or counsel, I am always available. I notice by your accent that you are from America?"

"Yes. I am. Thank you for your time, Father. I'm feeling so...lost." Alan entered the confessional, followed only a moment later by the priest.

"Oh, indeed? I can help with that. So, how are you feeling lost? What have you lost?"

"Well, its just...I can't always see the good of my actions. I feel sometimes as if I were slipping into darkness..."

"Everyone sins, my son. The Christian walk is simply a means of leaving that behind you."

"That's not it at all! Ahhh, maybe I'm better off just pondering this on my own!" he got up to leave, but stopped when the priest called out.

"Wait, my son! I'm sorry, I jumped to a conclusion. Forgive me. Tell me what you meant."

"All right." Alan sighed and sat back down. "You see, for the past several years, my friends and I have been...fighting, often without hope."

"There is always hope, my son. Please, go on."

"All right. Now, I know that we fight for right and justice, but...sometimes, I just get discouraged. I feel as if there isn't any meaning behind our struggle. I mean, eventually we'll just become what we fight, after all."

"No! If you become what you fight, then God's truth is not in you! You need to remember that you are on God's side, and He doesn't allow any of his own to fall."

"Hmmm. I guess you're right...I mean, we won't really become evil, we'll just stop being able to fight. But still, the time when we must lay down our weapons and give up the fight seems to get ever closer. Even now, I can feel the weight of it pressing down on me."

"Remember, my son, God wants to help us with our burdens. Now, I know you don't really need this, but I think it would be good for you to confess your sins."

"Hmmm. I guess so. At the very least, it'll help get some of the weight off my chest. Here goes. Let's see...I think I've gone about half a year since my last confession, but I was away, on business for much of it, away from a church where I could confess."

"That's not too bad. Many wait over a year. You may begin."

"Thank you. Hmmm...I have used the name of the Lord in vain, thirteen times. Generally in situations where another word would have fit better. I was not honouring to my parents, five times, I think. Each time I was keeping a secret from them. I have not coveted, lusted, or stolen. I have always placed God first. Now comes the biggie...I have killed, oh, 67 people, maybe more, since my last confession."

"And do you even now lie in the confessional?"

"Sorry, I can't be expected to keep track of _every single_ _enemy_ that I kill, can I? After all, half the time I'm not even certain the guy is dead."

"You haven't killed that many, have you?"

"Plus or minus a few, but otherwise yes, I have. A friend of mine's got nearly double my count, though."

"So many...why did you kill them?"

"Why? Because they were evil. Because if they had kept living, they would have hurt or even killed others, people who couldn't fight back."

"But who are you to judge that?"

"You see, Father! That's exactly what I struggle with! Who am I to kill so many? Why do I? Who cares, anyway?"

"God cares, my son. Perhaps you should stop killing?"

"I can't do that yet."

"Why?"

"Because, as long as there's even the slightest chance of doing some good with my blade, I must fight! Because I am a Wolf! And a Wolf cannot simply die when it becomes discouraging! Now I see! I feel so much better! Thank you! You were right! Confession really does help!" As he finished, there was a strange noise from the other side of the booth, and a hand burst through the partition! Alan leapt back, catching up against the back wall, then spun away towards the door. He burst through, just as the other side opened. The priest stepped out, wearing the blue robe of Shade possession! Alan gazed at the man, then drew his dagger sadly. "I'm so sorry, Father. I have no choice. I will make it quick." He charged, slashing at the Shadepriest. His strike was deep, and the creature screamed in agony. The few people in the cathedral rapidly ran out, frightened. The Shade obviously gave the gift of eloquence, as the hybrid spoke rapidly, trying to persuade Alan to spare it. But he did not relent. After several moments, he finally got in a killing blow. He sat there, staring at the body, when without warning the Shade sprung from the body and exploded. As soon as it was gone, the priest sat up, a confused expression on his face.

"Oh dear. I'm sorry, my son. I absolve you of your sins, but think on what I said, and try to stop killing so many. Now, I must go home and rest. Confession is closed for the day." Alan simply knelt on the marble of the cathedral, gazing at the massive crucifix on the far wall.

"Thank you." He murmured. He was indebted to that priest, and to have slain him wasn't something he wanted to face up to. He sat in a pew and prayed for a few minutes, then left for the rendezvous, fully restored.


	30. Chapter 30

AN: sometime I get writing these guys and they seem a litlle too emotionless, too robotic. So I throw something like this in just to remind myself (and my readers) that these guys are human, too. Just cold-blooded killers. Or something like that… anyway, only eleven chapters to go. Hey, if I get enough reviews, I may post one of my other fanfics. Or I might just quit after this one. Time will tell.

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon is as much mine as it is anyone else on this site. Not at all.

heart of the pack, part 2: reflections.

Matthew finished his dinner, looking around as he watched the servers. He sighed, and pushed his leftovers away. In order to avoid looking suspicious, he was without his customary mirror. He paid his check, slapping down the proper amount of yen. He paused, left a generous tip, then left the restaurant. As he left, he noticed a young couple in the middle of a fight. He turned that direction, more because he was heading that way than wanting to get involved. But as he drew closer, he realised that it wasn't a couple. The boy was of that irritating, womanising type that Matthew took special pleasure in beating down. Immediately, Matthew altered course, and, coming up behind the boy, he flashed a grin at the girl. "Is this jerk bothering you, miss?" He asked politely.

"Yes! He is! I told him already that I didn't want to go to a bar with him, and he wont listen." The guy turned, and Matthew could smell the alcohol already on his breath. The guy gazed drunkenly at Matthew, who simply stood there, looking kind.

"Whatta you wan', kid? Go getcher own girl..." He rebounded from a blow that neither he nor the girl saw coming. Matthew smiled slightly, then his eyes turned angry.

"I want you to leave her alone. I want nothing more than to keep harm from coming to her. Now, you have two options. You can leave peacefully, get even more drunk, and have a peaceful hangover in the morning. Or you can choose to continue what you're doing, in which case your hangover will be accompanied by a couple broken limbs, and a severe concussion. What's your choice?" The drunk snorted and came at Matthew with a wild haymaker. Matthew sighed and sidestepped the clumsy blow. "Option two, I see." He pronounced, then his eyes turned to stone and he slammed a roundhouse kick into the drunk's unprotected ribs. The man staggered back, clutching his side, then went down on one knee and coughed up blood. A second kick to the chin sent the drunk flying to crash into a lamppost, where he collapsed and stayed down. Matthew looked disappointed. "Hmph. I was hoping he'd last a little longer. Beating up guys like him is always a great way to blow off steam." The girl looked fearfully at him, but he simply smiled and turned to go. "Well, I'm certain he won't be bothering you again, or anyone else for that matter. Bye." He got three steps before the girl stopped him.

"Wait! Why did you help me? What do you want in exchange?" He turned again, and as he spoke, she noticed he had a small piece of something green in his teeth.

"I helped you, because that is what I do. I want nothing in exchange, that is not the samurai way. That is not the way of my companions and me. Now, get home, or wherever it is you were going, before someone else decides to try to mess with you." He started in surprise and annoyance as she thrust a mirror at him.

"Here. You have something in your teeth. Get it out." He gazed into the mirror for a moment, then suddenly, almost automatically, he grabbed her shoulder and pulled her off to the side. She struggled away from his hand. "Hmmph. I thought you were different. I guess..." Hwoooosh! A car sped around the corner, and without slowing down or pausing, passed right through the spot she had been mere seconds before. She stared in horror at the spot, then jumped when she felt something cold on her shoulder. She turned, to find Matthew holding her mirror out to her, smiling slightly. The green stuff was still in his teeth. She gazed at him, awe fighting irritation for supremacy on her face. Irritation won. "Don't you care that there's something in your teeth? Sheesh. I gave you that mirror so you could get the stuff out. I mean, its a huge green thing. No one wants to see that."

"Oh, sorry. But, a mirror won't help. I stopped seeing myself in mirrors years ago. Where is it?" She showed him in her own mouth, and he sucked lightly on his teeth to get it off. When it was gone she smiled.

"Much better. Hey, I know you've already eaten, but how would you like to get a drink or something, as thanks?" He looked thoughtful, then glanced at his watch.

"Sure. I have time for one drink. I have to meet some friends of mine, we're planning a big party, and we need to make the arrangements."

"A party?!? I'm great at organising stuff like that! Can I help?"

"Uhhh...well, we already have it mostly planned...and I'm sure you have somewhere else you must be...also, its...not that kind of party."

"Oh...well, at least let me buy you a drink! Come on!" She took off, him reluctantly in tow. He didn't want to involve her in this, but she would get involved anyway. So, he might as well stick around for a drink, maybe try to keep her safe for a little while, then get to the rendezvous. As they walked, they passed through a semi-abandoned corner of a nearby park. Suddenly there was a movement on the path ahead. The girl stopped, and stepped back in fear. She jerked back as Matthew suddenly leaped in front of her, his mirror-like short sword gleaming in the afternoon light. The Shade reared up off the ground, then leaped at the girl. Matthew swung, and managed to injure it slightly, but not enough to kill it or keep it from possessing the girl. He spun around to see the change. She had been pretty before, not that he noticed, he felt that if he only helped good-looking people, then he wasn't worthy of his name, but now she was utterly beautiful. The blue robe draped seductively around her body, and her eyes shone like stars. Her proportions were perfect, and she swayed gently, like a tree. He realised that the Shade was driving her mad, and he knew he had no choice. But he felt sad, having to kill this girl he had just saved. He brandished his knife, then gazed into it, trying to avoid looking at her. He knew that if he gazed at her too long her beauty would overwhelm him, then he would be unable to fight her. He leaped away as she attacked, brandishing a strange whip that she had pulled from somewhere. He charged, dodging the whip left and right. He plunged his knife into her heart, and she collapsed without a sound. He reached over to pull the knife from her heart, and as he did, the Shade rocketed from her and she stirred. He staggered back, then gazed into his knife, and relaxed. She was no longer beautiful, but she was alive. He sighed in relief, then helped her up, sheathing his knife surreptitiously as he did so. She looked around herself. "Where did that creature go?"

"It's gone. I killed it. I thought I'd killed you, but I guess they shield their prey. That's handy to know."

"Are you one of the sailors?" Disbelief shone in her eyes.

"No, no. I'm just an ally of theirs. They're all female, you know."

"Oh...thank you so much!"

"No problem. Now, you still want that drink, or shall we bag it? I have to meet with my friends soon, but they'll understand if I'm a little late."

"Sure! Come on!" She stood energetically, and led the way to a nearby bar, where the two enjoyed a quiet, no-strings-attached drink. Afterwards, they split up, and Matthew headed for the rendezvous, his mind already processing the new information he had received. But, thanks to the time he had spent with her, he was no longer feeling the pressure of his life. And that was worth more than merely two saves. He was indebted to that girl, and would do his best to repay it.


	31. Chapter 31

AN: And another long chapter, with a long-winded talkfest in the middle. But it's not as if it's unnecessary. This is important to the story, here. (Well, not this one, but to these guy's story it is.) And here come the last chapters.

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon isn't mine, but the idea for this story is.

heart of the pack, part 3: breaking barriers.

Timothy had finished his recon mission early, so, wielding his twin daggers, he was running through his katas in the park, nearby. He heard Matthew fighting a Shade, but he ignored that. Matthew was probably the best fighter, other than Michael, out of the group, so he wouldn't need help. As he finished his favorite kata, a deadly one where he threw his swords high then caught them to add power to his already brutal strkies, he heard someone say "Hold that pose, please!"

He was chagrined. He hadn't heard anyone come up to him. And they had a sketchbook! "Blast." He muttered, then held the pose as requested. He had been careless enough to get spotted by an artist, he would just have to deal with it. He was the one most frequently drawn, as his style was more graceful and aesthetically pleasing. He didn't mind much, but when he was caught off guard, then he got irritated. After about three minutes of holding still, the voice, probably a woman's, came again. "Okay, sorry about that. You just looked so happy, I had to draw it!" He relaxed, sheathing his knives, and turned to the voice. As he had expected, it was a woman. She was probably actually younger than him, so really a girl, not a woman, yet. He shook his head, smiling in self-reproach.

"No, no. I understand. I've gotten used to people drawing me doing my katas. May I see it?" She handed it to him, and he looked it over. It was surprisingly good! He noticed something, however. "You have me holding two normal swords. Why?"

"Well, you looked like you use them, and those knives weren't your real weapons."

"Incredible. You know, I don't think any of the other people that have drawn me did something like that. I am impressed. It's very good."

"Thank you!" She blushed slightly, and patted the bench near her. "Do you want to take a break?"

"Sure." He sat, and glanced at his watch. Plenty of time to rest and talk. "My name is Timothy. If you can't tell, I'm from America. So what are you doing all alone here, right at sunset?"

"Oh, I come here all the time. My name is Rose. I'm an art student from America. I like coming here to sketch the sunset, but mostly I come for ideas for characters."

"Characters?"

"Mmm. I draw anime and manga, and people come here fairly often to do what you did, so they make good characters sometimes."

"Blast. Look, if you use me, alter it drastically, okay?" He asked, his eyes hooded.

"You're weird. Why would you want it altered?"

"I'm...kinda a secret agent. Not exactly, or I wouldn't be able to tell you, but if my face became well known, then there could be problems."

"Oh. I could do that. Maybe add some scars and facial hair to disguise it, or maybe give you a whole new face..."

"Thank you. You know, it's really tricky for me to speak Japanese all the time. You want to switch to English?"

"Sure." she said, in English.

"Thanks." He replied. "So, you draw anime, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm an assistant at a studio a couple blocks away. Sensei sometimes uses my characters for main characters, so I'm pretty happy. Also, the studio pays well, so I can afford tuition. So why did you come to Japan?"

"Business. You know, the kind that involves negotiation. I actually am here with some friends, but we had a small fight, and now we're kinda wandering around to blow off steam."

"What did you fight about? If you don't mind me asking?"

"It's fine. Basically, we just are feeling a lot of pressure. Lately it seems we've been slipping lower and lower, and its really getting to some of us. I'm fine, I've never lost heart, and I never will. I know our cause is noble, but sometimes the weight of uselessness catches up to the others."

"Uselessness? Someone like you?"

"Meh, even someone as skilled as I am, or as skilled as Michael, even, can feel like their efforts and skill have little or no meaning. And Alan has always been kind of depressed. I mean, the guy was going emo before he joined us, and what we do doesn't help him feel better."

"Emo? Really? Are you okay?"

"Ha, I'm fine. And to look at Alan, he wouldn't seem emo. If anything, he looks preppy. But still, beneath the surface, he's got a depressed edge that makes him probably the most reckless of us all. He likes to help people though, so he is also the strongest of heart of us all. He just doesn't see it. Huh? What are you doing?" As he spoke, she was drawing something.

"Oh, sorry. I just got an image of him. Is this what he looks like?" She showed the picture. Timothy leapt out of his seat as if burned.

"Have you ever met him before?"

"No, I don't think so..."

"You haven't seen him fight, have you?"

"No, of course not! Why?"

"Because that is him. Sword and all. Exactly. Hmmm. let's try something." He sat back down, cautiously. "Okay. I'll describe the group, and you draw. When I'm done, I want to see how close you are."

"Okay."

"You've already done Alan and me, so let's go with Sean first. Now, he's rude, and bitter. He was largely forced into joining the group based on his personality, and he resents Michael's leadership. He has impressive skill, and his agility is beyond incredible, but his negative attitude has gotten him into more trouble than any other member. He's goth, or at least he thinks he is, but he really isn't, and he senses it, which is another source of bitterness. Done with him, other than that he's the type to always bring up old wounds to make us feel like we're useless. He's the one who'll stop fighting soonest. Probably only a couple of years, then he'll be on the sidelines, watching for a successor.

"Next comes Matthew. Now this guy is hard to fathom. He would be leader if it wasn't for two things: One, he can't beat Michael, and two, he spends all his time worrying about the future. He's kind, and he can't stand womanizers. He has utmost respect for people, but he also has a vicious, hateful streak that has led to several unnecessary deaths. Michael always yells at him for his cruelty, and his callousness. He doesn't care for his appearance, and people are often surprised by that. He spends all his time looking in mirrors, unless Michael orders him to stop, but he can't see himself, so vanity is not one of his attributes.

"Finally, we have Michael, the leader. He's the best fighter of all of us. He makes me look like a flailing two year old with his skill, and his power is so vast that no one can truly understand it. He's kind, and gentle, but he has a hard edge to him that's completely him. It isn't the reult of our work, it's entirely his personality. He's the person that walks down the street and is immediately avoided by anyone who feels guilty about something. He has an aura of command that draws everyone of like mind to him, and he cannot be ignored, except when he's acting undercover, in which case not even his allies notice him sometimes. All right, that's us. So, let's see the drawings." He took them, and laid them out. "You are like Matthew...only you scry using paper. That's incredible! I've never seen anything like this. Look, I want you to take these, alter the faces, and give them to your sensei. Once you've done that, I want you to call this number. I think you would enjoy doing this, and it makes a great second source of income. Tell them that Timothy of the Twin blades referred you, okay?" she nodded took the card, then glanced behind him.

"What is that?"

"Ah, hell. Get behind me!" He drew his daggers, and prepared to meet the Shade. But it dodged around him and immediately entered the girl. "Shit!" Timothy snarled the curse, then swung with all his might at the Shade's throat. That single strike launched the Shade away from Rose. It exploded, and she collapsed. Timothy stood over her, anger welling up in him. The tide of anger reversed direction as he saw her stir. He helped her up, and she was back to normal. After making sure she was safe, he left to head to the rendezvous, while she went to do as he had asked her.


	32. Chapter 32

AN: The last section of this chapter is out of order, technically, but this was where it belonged. I hold, and always will, that Usagi is weak, because she is so helpless without the others. At the very LEAST, one would think she'd get basic self-defence training once she realised that she would be fighting to save the world. So in pretty much all of my stories in this "universe", one of my characters chews her out for being a weakling. And so here's Michael's turn.

Disclaimer: This is Do the math.

heart of the pack, part 4: hurdles.

Sean entered the gym, and headed over to the gymnastics section. He needed to do a little training, or he would snap and start hurting people. He didn't want that, more because of what Michael would do to him than any actual altruism. As he wandered over, he scoffed at the bodybuilders, who he had always held in contempt. One such man noticed the derision and decided to take offense. A mistake. Sean was the weakest member of the group, but that didn't mean he was a weakling. He easily avoided the bodybuilder's clumsy strikes and then, with expert precision, he slammed his knee into the larger man's stomach, dropping him like a sack of cement. Sean walked away, shaking his head. He felt a little better, but he really began to loosen up when he mounted the parallel bars. Spinning and twisting with a coordination that would have earned a gold medal at the Olympics, if he'd bothered to enter, he flipped back and forth on the bars for what seemed like only a few minutes. When he finally flipped off, landing perfectly, he glanced at the clock, and realised that it was only about half an hour to the rendezvous time, and he hadn't done his recon! Swearing tightly to himself, he raced outside. He made his rounds, and finished with only ten minutes left. As he headed for the rendezvous, he noticed a young man from the gym following him. He accelerated slightly, then ducked around a corner. Sean's pursuer raced forward, trying to keep him in sight, and so wasn't expecting Sean to reach out from an alley and slam him into a wall. The follower was about to protest when he felt the cold edge of Sean's knife press against his throat. "Now then, I'm going to let you loose, and you aren't going to make a noise. Then, when I give the signal, you'll tell me why you were following me." Sean slowly eased the pressure, and the pursuer slumped to the ground, not yet making any noise. Sean nodded, and the kid, gasping in relief, began.

"I just hadn't seen anything like that performance. Both taking out that guy and that work on the bars. I'm into gymnastics, and I wanted to know how you got so good."

"You could have just asked. Don't forget, kid, following people can be bad for your health. As to how I got so good, heh. When your life depends on needing to be good, then you'll know if you have any skill or not. Now beat...oh, hell." a Shade rose from the far wall of the alley and slammed into the kid. Sean leapt back to rebound off the wall and nailed the possessed gymnast with a strike that Michael would have been proud of. He dislodged his dagger form the kid, and, cleaning it off, turned to leave the alley. He was gone by the time the Shade had been expelled, and so he didn't notice the young man run out of the alley, and so was firmly convinced the kid was dead. He reached the rendezvous on time, but was waiting a few moments for the rest of the group. 

Michael was in a bad mood, so he burst into the Tsukino house without even knocking. He marched up to Usagi's room, where she sat doing the paperwork. He burst the door open, and stuck his head in. "Come on. We're on patrol. Five minutes to meet me downstairs, or I'm dragging you." He left the room and went downstairs to wait. Five minutes passed, and he was marching up the stairs to carry out his threat when the girl burst from her room. "Good, you can be on time sometimes." He said, sarcasm dripping from every word. He grabbed her arm, and hauled her out of the house. "C'mon. I need to find out what kinds of combat skills you have."

"C-combat skills?"

"Of course. You do fight the enemy, right?"

"Uh..."  
"YOU DON'T FIGHT THE ENEMIES? WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU? Do you just let the other girls do all the work, then swoop in and get the glory? And you call yourself a leader. You are pathetic. Come on. I need to see if you can even fight." He hauled her into a dojo where a shinsengumi member taught, then he had the instructor get her some sparring gear. Once she was ready, he bowed to her, then attacked. She barely avoided his attacks, but eventually he got tired of her dodging. "Dammit, stop dodging and attack me!" He snarled angrily. She swallowed hard, and leapt forward with a kick. She collided with him, and fell flat on her face. She stood quickly, moaning in pain and rubbing her foot. He moaned in annoyance. "That had all the force of a feather! Do you always attack like that?"

"Uh huh." She nodded, still rubbing her foot. "You're hard as a rock."

"No, you're weak. Now stop rubbing it and try a punch. I'll try to give a little to avoid hurting you." She swallowed even harder, then swung her fist at him. The impact sent her to the floor in pain. "Oh, come on! You can't have been meaning it." He sighed. "I guess I'll just have to get you angry. Let me see...how to do that, though...AH! I know!" He knelt down and whispered something in her ear. She gasped in horror.

"You wouldn't!"

"You don't know me very well, girly. I'd enjoy every second."

"I won't let you!" She lunged at him, attacking full force. He smiled slightly as her blows hit his guard.

"There we go! That's more like it! I can actually feel these! You just need to understand why you're using these techniques! Come on! Keep at it! You're getting better!" She staggered to a stop, gasping for air. "What're you stopping for? You were actually doing well. Ah well. My turn. Get your hands up in a block position." Wearily, she raised her hands defensively. He came at her, barely putting any power behind his punches at first, then, as she got into the defensive rhythm, he began to put more and more power into them, until he was nearly at fifty percent! She finally couldn't avoid one, and he slammed his fist into her stomach at half power. She flew back, moaning in pain. "Well done! Okay, I'm sure you can handle yourself now. Well, I have to go finish my recon. Oh, and what I said? You're right. I wouldn't. I was just trying to get you mad enough to actually attack me. Stay here and train for a while. It could save your life, girl." With those words hanging in the air between them, he left the dojo and headed off to finish his recon. As he left, the dojo master came up to her.

"What did he say that got you so angry?"

"He...he said he would turn on my friends and me, and kill us all."

"Hmmm. He wouldn't but I can see why he would say that. You fight pretty well when you're good and mad, but it's fighting when you aren't angry that you need to work on. Come on, I'll teach you a little."

"o-okay..." she trained for a couple of hours, then left to finish her paperwork.


	33. Chapter 33

AN: if Endymion gets a cool Dragon ally, the King had sure as heck better, too. And the fusion thing, it's gonna mean trouble for the "good guys."

Disclaimer: insert generic funny disclaimer here.

do not open your packets until told to do so.

The Death Pack met outside the Moonfire HQ, and began to compare notes. After the rest told their story, Michael having noticed Sean's "kill," Michael decided to continue with the operation. They began, unaware that King Drake was watching every move. 

The judges gave the King permission to begin the final phase of the test, the Endgame. And so, he prepared the catalyst. The Death Pack had successfully infiltrated the base, but were still not finished sifting through the data they had recieved. Using his power, he pointed them to a certain file, and helped Matthew guess the password. Immediately, the five warriors stood and began the calls. After only ten minutes, it was time to begin the final part of the test. 

The King walked into a massive room in the ship. In the center of the room was a massive Dragon, its scales whiter than snow, as white as the full moon. Its eyes opened as he approached. When it spoke, it was only to his mind. _**Is it time?**_ _Yes, it is._ _**Good. I grow tired of inaction.**_ _I know._ _**Are you ready to bond?**_ _Yes._ _**Prepare for the fusion.**_ _I am ready._ The dragon spoke physically now, its voice rising in sync with the King. "Oh great King, merge with me and I will aid you against the enemies of the kingdom! They will feel and fear our wrath! Our fusion is strong! None can surpass us! We are the Full Moon King! We will not be defeated!" The Dragon flashed, and then it turned into a beam of golden light. It struck the king in the chest and he fell to his knees. His armor changed, turning to a white gold tint and growing a long cape in the shape of Dragon wings. They then unfurled, not as a cape but actual wings! Huge spines sprouted along the shoulders and arms of the armor, and claws sprouted from the gauntlets and the shoes. The armor was taking the shape of a Dragon! When the transformation was complete, the King picked up the necklace he had worn as the evil ruler, and donned it. Once it was in place, he intoned "Fuse with me, and we shall finish this test!" The strap of the necklace grew long spines and they dug into the armor, sending roots throughout it and altering his appearance. This alteration was physical, not the result of an illusion. It would stand up to any scrutiny. Now that his transformations were complete, he was ready for the final battle.


	34. Chapter 34

AN: The beginning of the end. Only a few chapters left. Finally.

Disclaimer: if you haven't figured it out already, you're not worth explaining it to.

the final question.

The groups gathered, one by one, outside the Moonfire HQ. The Sailor Starlights prepared their abilities, as did their princess. The sailor soldiers gathered around Sailor Moon for a quick planning section. Tuxedo Mask, now in his full armor as Endymion, was also ready. The last group to arrive was the Death Pack. They came, fully armed and armored. Wearing modern body armor under their traditional garments, they made an imposing sight. Their swords were ready, drawn and gleaming in the light of the evening. It was the first time the Sailors had seen the swords of the Death Pack, and they were awed. Each was a beautiful and deadly peice of equipment. The way the men held them showed that they had developed their fighting styles around the weapons, and had mastered them. Michael turned to Endymion, Sailor Moon and Sailor Kakyuu. "It's time. Endymion, you will accompany us, you two will take your groups and teleport in. We will go in the hard way, eliminating anything in our path. Are you prepared for that, Endymion?"

"Yes. Let's go!"

"Do you girls understand your parts?"

"Yes. We're ready."

"Good. Let's begin the assault!" The Death Pack, with Michael and Endymion sharing point, charged into the building. The two groups of female soldiers took hands and began the teleportation process. After a moment of powering up, they were gone. The men raced through the building until they reached the main office. There was the portrait, and as they approached it, it began to glow. Matthew placed his hand on it, and the glow brightened. He began an incantation, and slowly the glow filled the entire room. There was a pulse, and the six men found themselves not only ringed by monsters, but also aboard a strange ship. The bulkheads were pitted and scarred, the paint was peeling, and where it wasn't peeling it was covered in graffitti in strange alien languages. But they only noticed the decor secondarily, as they were pimarily concerned with fighting their way out of the sea of monsters. A tense ten minutes after their arrival they were racing along the corridors towards the bridge. Suddenly they came to a bright room, and in its center stood a single monster. It wore the distinctive necklace of a General, and was obviously incredibly powerful. Sean stepped forward. "I'll fight it. Commander, you need to keep up your strength in case we have to enter Level Five. So, we'll handle the Generals. You keep yourself fresh for the master."

"All right. But be careful. Don't toy with it too long."

"Yes, sir." He entered the creature's field of vision, and it hissed menacingly. It was a long serpentine creature, with no legs, just a tail like a snake. It's heavy arms were humanoid, and gripped a massive broadsword. It swung, but Sean dodged the strike easily and drew his sword in a rapid strike. The slash sliced the creatures arm, but didn't cut through it all the way. The creature bellowed and struck again. Again Sean dodged it. His agility was coming in handy in this fight as he inflicted several shallow, but steadily bleeding, cuts on the creature. After about ten minutes, the creature realized what was happening to it, and roared in hatred. It rushed at Sean, and drove him to a narrow corridor, where Sean was trapped against the wall. It sensed that it now had the advantage, and swung at Sean's legs to cripple him and prevent him from escaping. He leapt over the sword easily, and began to rebound off the walls and ceiling as he resumed his strategy of inflicting mild injuries. He aimed several harsh blows at its head, but for the most part he hit its back and sides as he rebounded along the walls. He bounced off the ceiling, then rebounded off the floor to deliver a shallow slice on the creatures shoulder. He then struck it with his sheath as he passed. Suddenly Michael bellowed at him. "I told you not to play with it too long!"

"Sorry sir. I'll end it now! Spearing Edge!" He slashed the creature in the throat, nearly decapitating it, then he spun into a thrust that finished severing the head from the body. He landed behind it, and sheathed his sword symbolically. The creature collapsed into a spray of greenish blood, and Sean joined the rest of the group as they left the room.

The next room came after several minutes of corridor, with a few low-level creatures along it to slow them down. The General in this corridor was huge, nearly filling the room with its mass. It was a huge ape-like creature with long rams horns curling down along its back. It had no weapon, and it simply stood there, knowing its invulnerability. It reached for Endymion, but suddenly its arm exploded in blood! Timothy had drawn his swords into a double slash that nearly severed the monsters arm. He grinned as the monster reared back, howling in pain. "This thing isn't so tough. I'll end this in one strike. X-Slice!" He lashed out with his full strength in four deadly slices without pausing in his movement. He carried through the creature and literally shredded it like cotton. The monster collapsed into a heap of flesh, and the group continued on. Endymion turned to Timothy.

"Thanks."

"No charge. But you get the next one, deal?"

"Deal." It turned out that this was a good idea, for the next opponent was a Dragon! Endymion immediately called upon Terra, and settled into a combat stance. He charged, slashing the Dragon's arm as it lunged for him. He leapt up over its head, striking it in the shoulder as he flew. The Dragon roared and lashed out at him as he landed. Endymion, startled by the speed of its reflexes, was caught flat-footed. The claws rebounded off his armor and he flew into a wall. He stood shakily, then dodged to the side as the Dragon attempted to bite him. He swung at its throat, but wasn't able to get in deep enough to cause damage. It reared back and unleashed a blast of flame that endymion barely dodged. his cloak was singed by the blast, and his armor was blackened slightly near the burn. He charged again, this time leaping left and right to avoid the flames. He leapt at the creature, and swung down with all his might. The blow connected with the creature's skull, and he traveled down its chest until the sword struck the Dragon's ribs and bounced away. The Dragon swayed slightly, and it looked as if it would continue fighting, but no. The creature finally fell, and the group moved on. The next series of corridors was extremely long, and the group was ready for an ambush when they reached the next room. This room was odd, in that it had two Generals in it. Matthew and Alan stepped forward together. Alan targeted one of the creatures, and charged. His sword, sheathed along his back, seemed unready for combat. Suddenly he reached back and undid a latch on his sheath. The sheath seperated along its length, and he pulled his sword out of it into a downward slash that the creature was hard-pressed to dodge. It stretched it's arm out, and the arm altered into a similar weapon.

As the two long swords went at it, Matthew faced off against a strange Gorgon-esque creature. Looking into his blade, he was unaffected by the spell its eyes cast. He avoided its gaze as the two fought. With his superior defence, he was able to prevent it from landing a blow. Which was good, for it largely lunged, trying to skewer him with its long claws, and he once dodged the claws, and watched them connected with a bulkhead. He watched in annoyance as the metal began to melt away into a green puddle of acid. He swallowed, then charged. He had to kill this thing quick! He rained deadly blows on it, inflicting several harsh blows on its head and shoulders as it staggered back under the onslaught. He was forced to keep his eyes averted or risk paralysis. The creature was unable to react, and so it simply took the blows. He eventually severed its head, making it safe to look again. He stood over the corpse, and watched the end of Alan's fight. The two combatants had similar weapons, but the uses were too different. Alan, with his superior mobility and surprising speed, considering the length of sword he wielded, was slowly but inevitably killing the creature. His spiraling, twisting style of swordsmanship was highly effective against the creature's single-strike, immobile style. The creature, for all its power, was unable to land a single blow on the rapidly moving, constantly shifting swordsman. Alan smirked and began a combat swords-dance. The creature, unsure what to do, was completely out of its depth. When Alan suddenly shifted from defence to offence, it completely missed the shift and was unprepared for the swiftness of the strikes. It raised its hand to shield its face, but that exposed its lower body. Alan took advantage of this, and struck with all his might. The creature fell in two halves, its arm returning to its original form. It twitched a couple of times, then lay still in a rapidly spreading pool of its own blood. The group left the room and continued to run along the corridors. After a moment, they entered a huge room, with the image the painting had displayed slowly turning outside the windows. The six men skidded to a stop. The girls were already there, and in combat with the leader!


	35. Chapter 35

AN: Think of this chapter as a series of semi-linear battles, happening at more or less the same time, up until they are gathered together at the end. (obviously I can't do it any other way.)

Disclaimer: if it's canon Sailor Moon, it's not mine.

please think it over carefully before answering.

There was a flash of light, and the Sailor Soldiers appeared before the General. They looked around, but the starlights were nowhere to be seen. They were on their own. The general snarled in hatred, and created a huge sphere of energy. He hurled it at Sailor Moon, but Saturn leaped forward. "Silent Wall!" She reflected the strike, and as the General dodged his own attack, Mercury stepped forward. "Mercury Frost Dragon!" The General dodged the strike, but it encased his left arm in ice. He sneered, then attacked again, this time physically. Uranus and Jupiter met him and fought him blow for blow. Jupiter pounded on it's right side, leaving Uranus the side with the frozen arm. The General, however, hadn't earned his title by being a weakiling, and was able to severely damage Urauns's ribs with a heavy smash of his frozen arm. She staggered back, and collapsed onto one knee. Jupiter looked back, and anger filled her with strength. She relentlessly struck at the General, forcing him to retreat from her blows. Driven away, he snarled like a feral creature, and began to rain blasts of energy down on the girls. The girls responded, launching attack after attack, unleashing everything they had available, blasting him with the Crystal Powers, summoning the Dragons, and generally trying everything in their power to defeat him. They kept blasting away until finally the General was weakened enough for Sailor Moon to unleash the Moon Dragon Staff's powers. The general was purified, and as he fell, he cried something in a strange language. Without any warning whatsoever, the girls were transported away. 

The second General stood over them, flames crackling along his arms and hair. He launched a massive fireball at Mars, who responded with the Mars Dragon. The flames collapsed into each other, then burned out. Neptune unleashed the Sea Dragon, and the General, his flames extinguished, was barely standing. He tried to stand up straight, but Mercury lashed out with the Frost Dragon, and he collapsed, encased in ice up to his throat. Sailor Moon fired a blast from the Dragon Staff, and, the ice shattering as he was purified, he sent them along in the same way as the first General. They arrived in a huge room, with a beautiful star scene slowly turning outside the windows. The girls cried out in horror as they saw Chibi Moon and her guardians lying unconscious a little ways away. "Did you know them? Hahahaha! They couldn't defeat me, are you sure you will?" The voice came from behind them, and they spun around. The voice was that of the leader of the enemy, but the being that stood before them was a demon! Huge bat wings spread wide from his shoulders, and massive spines protruded from his elbows and back. A long whip-like tail, tipped with spines that dripped a strange white substance, curled around behind him as he stood there. In his right hand he gripped a huge sword, its wide blade covered with strange runes and markings. He grinned menacingly, revealing long deadly fangs. The girls shuddered in horror, and he laughed, gloating. "Like it? This is my true form! Now, you will pay the price of defying me!!!" There was a flash of light, and the Starlights appeared behind the Soliders. 

The Starlights materialised in a small chamber. Two Generals stood there, their powerful auras stifling the Starlight's senses. They stood tall, and entered battle. 

It was a hard fought battle, but in the end Kakyuu was able to somehow purify the generals. With the defeat of the generals, the girls were transported into the throne room, just in time to join the Soldiers. As battle was about to be joined, Endymion, with the Death Pack at his heels, burst into the room. They rushed at the demon, but the Death Pack was pulled aside as several creatures charged from the sidelines. Endymion took his place by Sailor Moon, and the groups began the final battle.


	36. Chapter 36

AN: and now we see the Pack's Level Four. This is the ultimate form the swords can attain, and is the form these guy's initially trained for, meaning that they are nearly four times better with these weapons than they are with their swords just normal. Scary, huh?

Disclaimer: Blah, blah, blah. Not mine. Blah.

please write your answers.

The King was ready. The girls attacked with everything they had, and he repelled them with everything he had. They summoned the Planet Dragons against him, and he turned them against them or dispelled them. Saturn attacked with the Dust Dragon, the most powerful of the Dragons, and he gathered it in his hands and launched it back at the girls. The blast took out the outer soldiers, and sent the inner soldiers flying. The Starlights fired everything they had at him while Sailor Moon and the rest recovered, but he deflected them as easily as Galaxia had, if not easier. Kakyuu held her own against him for almost a minute, but eventually he drove her to the ground. He quickly prepared a spell that conjured a massive white hand to clutch their foreheads. They were out for the count after that. The inners were ready then, however. They charged, launching every attack they knew. He accessed the mental powers of the Dragon. Deflecting the soldiers' attacks, he grabbed Jupiter with his mind and slammed her into the ceiling. Mercury, distracted by Jupiter's scream of pain, was vulnerable. Picking her up, he slammed into the floor twice, then launched her into Jupiter's unconcious form. Venus was crushed against the far wall, and Mars was launched high into the air, then he caught her and slammed her into the windows. Endymion had reached him now though, and the true battle was on. He readied his ceremonial sword. Hefting it in one hand, he took a fighting stance.  
Endymion came in with a vicious headward cut, but the King blocked it. The King came back with a heavy downward slash that tore Endymion's armor and sent him into a wall. The King pursued him, but Endymion was awakened, and had called upon the power of Terra. He was a match for the king now, and the two fought for nearly an hour. The Death Pack had long ago finished off the creatures, and were simply waiting for their time to come. It came. Endymion charged, putting all of his flagging strength into a spectacular strike that caused a massive explosion and drove the demon back. Endymion, his strength nearly spent, collapsed heavily onto his knees. The huge demon reached out with his tail and gripped the man by the throat. Sailor Moon cried out in horror as the demon began to whip Endymion around like a ragdoll. Finally, he stayed down and the King blasted him away. Sailor Moon was just kneeling there, her eyes filled with tears, as she tried to wake her friends. About fifteen minutes into the fight, she had stood to help Endymion, but he had ordered her to stay away. She had no choice but to stand back. When Endymion fell, she stood and was about to fight, knowing she was going to lose. But before she could enter the battle, the Death Pack intervened. "Wait. It's our turn. Save your strength for if we fail." She nodded, and they advanced. "Men, we have no choice! Level four!" Michael reached down to his sheath and pulled out a second blade. He turned his two swords end to end and connected them through the hilt! Then, with a sharp twist, he locked them in place. Reaching up to his neck, he pulled a medallion on a leather strap from beneath his shirt. Unhooking the medallion, he attatched it to the second sword as a hilt guard. With a second sharp twist he locked it into place. Unlooping the chord from his throat, he connected it to one hilt guard, then twisted it several times and linked it to the other. He shoved his hand into it, keeping the sword within his grasp as he spun it into a sequence of vicious spirals.  
Matthew had opened two parts of his hilt, revealing a trigger and a hole just the right size for a clip and was removing the jewellery he wore. He removed his earring, a weird half-loop, then detached his belt buckle, revealing it to be a clip. He began to put together a strange conglomeration of the pieces on his hilt, and when he was done, it looked like a gun.  
Timothy unwrapped his hilts, and then he separated his swords into two halves. He then reconnected them, but differently, forming two strange swords. They both had two blades coming from each hilt. He swung them, and the swords made a strange whistling sound.  
Alan twisted his hilt, and his sword dropped an entire foot! He locked it into its new position, and he had a weapon similar to Michael's. The back part, however, was only about a foot long.  
Sean linked his sword and sheath together in a similar way to Michael, but then he twisted his sheath and drew it out. This action made his sword into a long spear. Once the last of them was finished going to Level Four, the five men carged.


	37. Chapter 37

AN: Level Five is HERE! Also, the spinning blade technique is the Wolf's Howl, Michael's ultimate attack. (proably not possible, but I'm not one to worry about a little thing like physics.)

Disclaimer: this is a fanfic. Got it?

the wolf has given the signal. pencils down class.

Matthew only ran forward a few steps, but then he crouched down behind a large piece of the floor that had been upturned by Endymion's fight. The rest raced forward, spreading into a wide encirclement formation. The demon was hard pressed by these ferocious enemies. He defeated them one by one, with great difficulty. Sean fell quickly, his agility of little use in such a wide space. He was simply tossed aside, then blasted with energy. Matthew, the biggest threat other than Michael, was next. The demon broke away from the others and rushed Matthew. Matthew, however, was expecting this, and so he met the charge. but something was wrong. He couldn't accurately predict the demon's movements! He was helpless as the monster drove him back into the wall. He was trapped, and the demon knew it. It wasted no time in smashing his head into the wall, ending his part in the fight. Alan, his speed and reflexes greater than Sean's, was able to avoid the more vicious of the attacks aimed at him. It was him, in fact, that drew first blood. He spun his sword, then suddenly gripped the flat of the blade and shot it forward in a spearing motion that caught the demon full in the shoulder and caused a gout of blood to rise up. Alan paid for his strike, though, for the creature lashed out in anger and sent him flying into the far wall. Timothy, his powerful strikes tearing through the sheet metal bulkheads like paper, pursued the demon relentlessly. The demon lashed out with its tail, but Timothy was expecting it and slashed down with a massive strike that sent the spiked end flopping uselessly to the floor. The demon struck back with the stub of the tail, sending Timothy sprawling. The demon finished the fight with a single kick that launched Timothy into the windows alongside Mars, sending long cracks up them.

Michael lasted the longest, avoiding or blocking every single one of the strikes that defeated his comrades. He glared at the demon and snarled "I will not lose this time!" The two fought hard and fast, the blades spinning in deadly arcs and patterns. Michael's style, so strange when using only a single blade, now made sense as he spun rapidly into the demon. The twin blades, coupled with his speed and skill with them, made it incredibly hard for the demon to avoid the attacks. Michael lashed out with several sweeping strikes, then suddenly shifted styles and went in with a powerful lunge that launched the demon into a wall. It shook itself, then charged. Michael was ready, and met the charge with one of his own. He went flying, but performed a back handspring and was up again almost immediately. He frowned in anger, then held his sword in front of him, the blades perpendicular to the floor. He began spinning the sword, and as he spun it faster and faster the air in front of him began to shimmer like a mirage. The shimmering grew stronger and stronger as he spun the blade faster and faster. After about a minute of spinning, he spun it out to the side, then charged at top speed! His sword flickered in and out five times, and he carried through the demon. The air around the demon rippled, and suddenly a huge wind flashed in towards it. It put up a barrier, just barely in time, and the wind carved huge ruts in the steel as it swirled around the shield. The sheer weight of the air sent huge cracks down the demon's shield, but it remained solid. The demon spun around, fear in its eyes as it saw Michael preparing the strike again. It leaped forward and stopped the blade from spinning. Finally, Michael went down, his sword at the mercy of the demon and his strike defeated. When he went down, the other members stood. He stood as well, and he looked at them sadly. "I guess we have no choice. Level Five!" The five men stood in a strange formation, with Michael in the centre of a square formed by the other members. They were each in a position corresponding with their titles. Matthew, the Right Forepaw, was to Michaels left, with Timothy at the right. Alan was at the left as well, but back behind Michael. Sean was in the same position to Michael's right.  
Matthew raised his right arm. "The Right Forepaw gives wisdom!" He roared. Timothy raised his left hand. "The Left Forepaw gives power!" Alan placed his right hand below waist level and about a foot from his body. "The Right Hind Paw gives speed!" Sean took a similar position, then intoned "The Left Hind Paw gives agility!" As one they thrust their hands at Michael, in the centre of their formation. A strange light began to gleam in their palms. Michael raised both hands above his head. "The Fang accepts these gifts, and gives up his will to receive the power offered! I now call upon the Soul of The Pack! Howl, oh Wolves! The Moon is full! The light shines down upon us! Bask in it, and draw power from it!" Light shot from the hands of the Paws, and struck him. Superimposed over his form was the image of a huge, snarling Wolf, its fangs bared and ready to tear. Then suddenly, his appearance changed! His fingernails lengthened and became claws. His ears grew to points, and his canines tripled in length! He snarled, and his eyes closed. They snapped open, and he was gone. Michael, the hard, cold, passionless leader, was gone. What looked through his eyes now was a feral monster, it's only thoughts of killing, and its instincts running it like intellect runs a man: the Fang. The second the transformation was complete, five monsters came charging out from wherever they had been and attacked. A fatal mistake. The feral warrior sprung at one of the monsters, burying his elongated teeth deep into the creature's throat. With a horrific tearing noise, the Fang tore his teeth away from the monster's throat in a shower of blood. As soon as Michael was out of the formation, the light faded and the Paws became translucent. The second and third monsters attacked him from behind, and the Fang spun around, swiping at them with his claws. The second monster was shredded from hip to shoulder, and the third was nearly impaled by a mighty spear. The fourth monster, fear in its eyes, rushed forward, trying to eliminate the man. It fell to another swipe, its throat a black, gaping chasm of blood. The final monster turned and tried to run, but it was no match for the Fang, who accelerated to an incredible speed and dragged the monster down. The Fang prowled around, snarling and hissing, for a few minutes, then it noticed the demon again. With a howl that could not have come from any human throat, he charged at the demon! The demon threw away its sword, and the two met in the centre of the room. Michael, no, the Fang, was more than even with the demon. His brutality and ferociousness seemed to have taken the thing by surprise. It created shields, only to have the Fang shatter them. He launched blasts of energy, only to miss by wide margins. The Fang was a raging beast, its movements going from all fours to two feet like it was nothing. He leapt, and the demon created a shield. The Fang struck at the shield with all it's strength, and huge cracks splintered along the barrier. The power feedback from the strike sent the two combatants flying. The demon was getting angry. At last, he was tired of the fight, and began preparing a spell. He reached forward, and a huge white hand made of energy, similar to the attack that had defeated the Starlights, latched onto the Fang's head. He struggled, but eventually went still. The hand released him, and he dropped like a stone. The second he hit the ground, the paws became solid again, and his appearance returned to normal as they, too, collapsed. The demon turned to Sailor Moon. "So. You are the last one. Exactly as planned. Now. Do you want this fight to be over?"  
"Yes!"  
"Then attack me. Blast away this form. Destroy me with the Dragon Staff. Then you can end this conflict and save not only your friends, but your planet."  
"What?" She gasped. He turned to the viewscreen.  
"Display the planet Earth." He commanded. The screen flashed, and there was Earth. Strange energy blasts were raining down on Tokyo, and there was a ship floating there. "That is this very ship. Display image from viewpoint of ship." The screen changed again, and the image of Tokyo resolved itself into buildings and streets, all of them pitted and scarred by the blasts. "Broadcast mode, worldwide." He ordered. "Now, Tsukino Usagi! Sailor Moon! Princess Serenity! You cannot hide any more! Defeat me, or your world is destroyed, and I will kill your friends while you watch, then I will kill you! You have no choice! Destroy me!" Tears were running from Sailor Moons eyes.  
"Why? Why are you doing this? What have we done to you? Why do you want to kill me?"  
"It is what I do. You must make this decision. Upon this decision rests the future of the entire Galaxy. Can you make it?" She stood, tears still streaming down her face, but her eyes were determined. She raised the staff, and cried out with all her voice. "Crescent Dragon Staff! Shine!" A blast of energy flashed from the staff, and struck the demon. There was a brilliant flash of light, and suddenly everything was changed.


	38. Chapter 38

AN: man was it a pain to come up with names, etc. for all this stuff in this chapter. Anyone wanting the story of Chibimoon's adventure in the dreamlands can write their own freaking self. (I'm tapped for ideas, so I'm not a proper candidate.)

Disclaimer: other than some of the characters, most of the stuff in this chapter is mine.

scores are as follows.

The ship was repaired, and it shone like new. The lights, which before were incredibly dim, were bright and cheerful. Then, suddenly, they winked out. At least, all except for three sets of spotlights. One set shone on Sailor moon and Endymion, who had woken and was recovering slightly. Another set shone on Chibi Moon! She was staring around herself in bewilderment. Slowly, the Sailor Soldiers joined Sailor Moon. The Starlights, however, stepped over to join the Death Pack in the other spotlight. They bowed deeply, as did Chibi Moon's guardians. Into the spotlight beside the Death Pack stepped a figure. He had an aura of command and power about him. He wore a white mantle and in one hand was a long, slender Staff similar to the one Sailor Moon held, except it was far longer, and instead of a crescent it was topped with a sphere of pure crystal. At his waist was a long katana, white as snow, with a round white stone in the pommel. His head was capped with a massive crown with four huge diamonds set into the peaks.His hair, which reached his waist, was snow white and bound near the tip into a short pony tail. His eyes flashed with kindness and caring, but there was a hard edge to them that showed that he was not just a nice man. He slammed the staff on the ground twice and then lifted it up. There was a flash, and he spoke. "Let the judges reveal themselves." Another set of spotlights flashed on, illuminating a group of seven creatures, many of them similar to creatures the soldiers had faced during the battle. In unison, they rose and bowed, saying as they did so, "Well done to the Candidates. We hope you did your best." The man spoke again.

"I see you sitting there wondering what is going on. Well, it is quite simple, my ancient friends. As you learned when you spoke to Luna of your pasts, and learned when you attained the power of the Dragons, there were three Kingdoms at the time of the Silver Millennium. I am the ruler of the third kingdom, the Full Moon Kingdom. My name is King Drake. For the past year you have been undergoing a test contrived by me and graded by these seven beings. You were not told that it was a test, because that would have affected the test adversely. That test is now over, and it is time for grading. Tsukino Usagi, aka Sailor Moon, once called Princess Serenity. Step forward to receive your scores."

"Ummm...what are you testing me for?"

"Not just you, but also your daughter, sorry, future daughter, and your love. You are being tested to determine your fitness to rule the planet Earth as Neo Queen Serenity. Now. Step forward for your grades." she stepped forward. The judges took a couple moments to tally their scores, then began.

"First test, Defence: Candidate passes with 87. Three percent reduction due to secrecy, four percent deduction due to inability to fight for yourself, and two percent deduction for hesitation of final blow. Remaining deductions due to multiple factors, not to be named.

Second test, Administration: Candidate fails with 78. Required percentage 80. Final two percent reduction due to inaccuracies in writing portion demonstrating several long breaks within the section. Judgement: Candidate is still eligible. Deductions are all correctable mistakes.

Third test, Conviction: Candidate passes with 83. Deductions largely due to high levels of self-doubt during final battle and interim battles. Also due to slipping of convictions when the New Moon Princess arrived. Final grade: Candidate passes with 83. Coronation ceremony to take place after the final grading of the other candidates." The king stepped forward, clapping.

"Well done, Serenity! That's your name from now on, you know. You've earned it back, so I think you should keep it. And, since I'm the Full Moon King, I don't think anyone's going to argue. Anyway, step back and let Endymion get his grades. Ahem. Chiba Mamoru, aka Tuxedo Mask, once known as Endymion. Step forward and receive your grades." Mamoru stepped forward as Serenity returned to the soldiers. The judges tallied the score and stood.

"First test, Defence: shared with Serenity. Second test, Administration: Candidate passes with 81. Deductions similar to Serenity's.

Third test, Conviction: Candidate passes with 90. Deductions due to slight harshness towards allies due to misplaced protective instincts. Final score: Candidate passes with 86. Coronation ceremony to take place after final grading." The king shook Endymion's hand.

"Well done, my old rival. Your name is Endymion once again. Welcome to the ranks of royalty. Be careful though, Serenity's flighty." he laughed at Endymion's glare. "Now get out of your future daughter's way, you silly fool. Ahem. Small Lady, aka Sailor Chibi Moon, aka Tsukino Usagi junior. Step forward for your grades." She stepped forward hesitantly. "Your test was different form your parent's, because yours is very special. If you pass, you will have established a new Kingdom to replace the destroyed Crescent Moon Kingdom. Your parents will attain the Earth Kingdom, eventually to be called Crystal Tokyo. And so the Three Kingdoms will remain. So, I hope you passed." The judges finished their deliberations and stood.

"First test, Hope: Candidate passes with 98. Deductions negligible.

Second test, Defence: Candidate passes with 84. Deductions due to less-than average numbers and youth. Also, protectors were once under the influence of darkness, reducing the score.

Third test, Alliances: Candidate's success was based on pass/fail of previous candidates. Therefore Candidate passes with 100. also, all deductions negated due to relations with holder of the Golden Crystal, Helios.

Fourth test, Administration: Candidate is ineligible for this section due to age. Calculated score at proper age: pass at 80.5.

Fifth test, Approval of other Nations: Candidate was favoured in a poll of two hundred of the 450 nearby kingdoms. Candidate passes, with no percentage value applying.

Sixth test, artefact of power: Creation of Dreaming Moon Crystal successful. Candidate passes with 100.

Seventh and final test, Right of Rule: Candidate is descended of two separate nations, is commander of members of New Moon clan. Candidate is declared eligible for rule. Final score: Candidate passes with a 92.5. Coronation to take place immediately following the ceremonies of Serenity and Endymion. Kingdom Creation ceremony to take place immediately following coronation. Candidates may now adjourn to prepare for the ceremony. Thank you for your time and patience. We will now take our leave, as our part is now over." There was a flicker of light, and they were gone. Drake turned to Serenity.

"Now. I'm sure you want to know what just happened, so I'll do my best to explain. You had all better listen. This is very important."


	39. Chapter 39

AN/Disclaimer: The information provided in this segment is not actually part of anything Sailor Moon. It is entirely made up by me.

Kingdom History, 102.

"Long ago," He began. "There was a wise and powerful King. Now, this was my great-great grandfather. He had three children, all of whom were equally qualified to rule the Kingdom. They were triplets, so they were born at roughly the same time. They had the personalities of kings, and they were adept at rule. Now, it came time for the King to die, and so, in order to prevent a civil war, he decided to divide his Kingdom into three parts and make each son King of one nation. But the question still remained; how to divide it? It was, in fact, the sons themselves who provided the answer. The kingdom spanned the solar system, but was largely three main parts. One part was the planet Earth, where the human race was just starting out. The second part was the moon of that planet. Also capable of supporting life at that time, though it had no inhabitants. The third part was the outer ring of asteroids and planets that held the larger part of the system's resources and was the home of the capital. The idea the sons came up with was simple: a Test. The one who scored the highest, as determined by an impartial group of seven Judges chosen at random from the species within the galaxy, would inherit the rings, the next highest would inherit the moon, and the lowest would inherit the Earth. The order was proposed by the youngest, who was planning to lose and gain the planet of the humans. The reason for this was because he recognized the power the humans would be capable of and wanted to be sure that they would be loyal to the ruler of the Rings. He also planned to eventually use the humans to build a huge empire in order to keep the peace in the galaxy. The other brothers knew this, and, because they were strong of heart, they agreed to the test. And so it came to pass as the younger had hoped, with the eldest inheriting the moon and the youngest inheriting Earth. No brother was jealous of the others, as each was too busy creating their nation. The eldest took his servants and those who would follow him and led them to the moon, where they established the Moonlight Kingdom. The youngest took his household and established a Kingdom on Earth. The middle brother took the reigns of the established Kingdom in the rings. And so, when it came time for the three brothers to choose their successors, they had many children who were eligible, and so the eldest suggested that each one test the children of the next in line, with the youngest testing his. The test would be similar to the one they underwent. And so it became a tradition. I myself underwent a test, it is what turned my hair white, in fact."

"How did that happen?"

"My father was a much harder tester than I was for you. Also, because the Full Moon Kingdom was and still is the largest and most powerful kingdom in this part of the Galaxy, my test was much harder than yours. But I passed it. One interesting thing about the Three kingdoms, is that location affects lifespan. The people of the Earth Kingdom died much sooner than their brethren on the Moon, who in turn died sooner than their brethren in the rings. So, the Earthlings would die after only two or three centuries, the Moonlings after four or five, and the people of the rings could live for millenia. The royalties, however, had the same lifespan, though eventually the Earthling ruler's life spans shrunk, as well. It was part of that shrinkage that caused the Crescent war of 3000 years ago. But now that the Gold and Silver Crystals are being linked the reversal will end. Also, being a child of that linkage, Chibiusa will have a lifespan equivalent to mine. I'm in my third millennium, and still young. My father was almost seven thousand, and he died of illness. So you guys are just slightly less than immortal. The reason I say this, is because several thousand years is a long time to live with regrets, so be grateful your test was so easy. Anyway, my servants will get you ready for the Coronation ceremony." He clapped, and several white-robed figures came from seemingly nowhere to lead the girls to their quarters. Endymion stayed a moment.

"Something I want clarified. Was that you we were fighting?"

"Indeed it was. The necklaces were nothing more than cloaking devices designed to make me and some of my Generals look evil. The creatures that you and the Death Pack killed were death row criminals who were trying for a pardon. So don't worry about that stuff."

"That's right! The Death Pack! What did you do to them?"

"I restored their memories. Same for the Starlights and the Asteroid Soldiers. See, the Death Pack were once some of my Warlords, so I sent them to earth to play a role in the test. This was years ago, which shows how long I have been planning this. The other two groups agreed to help me, to help you. And I didn't feel like getting attacked first without questioning, so I just rezapped their memories of the test. So, the Starlights knew what was going on the whole time, but didn't realize it. Anyway, go get ready. The ceremony is in less than an hour!" Endymion left. "Broadcast mode off." The viewscreen went blank.


	40. Chapter 40

AN: this was probably the second most fun chapter to write. Describing the ceremony, coming up with vows (which were partially based off of the vows in _the Magician's Nephew_, as a matter of fact.) the ceremony itself came from the Chronicles of Narnia movie, and was written while I listened to classical music, so it should be fairly ceremonialish. Also, the final conversation between Drake and Michael was there to tie that story down, explain the role of the Death Pack, and establish the relationship between the two.

Disclaimer: most of the stuff from this chapter was taken from various sources, but I made it mine. (sort of.)

please step forward to recieve your awards.

Drake stood at the top of a dais, his white robes and crown shining like his Kingdom's namesake. Serenity walked along the red carpet, wearing the Silver Crystal around her neck. Her head was bare and her hair had been let down to cascade like golden water to the floor. Escorting her was Endymion, his head also bare. Serenity was wearing a long, elaborate silver train that set her hair off beautifully and caused the entire room to shimmer. Endymion was dressed more plainly, wearing earthen colors. Or, at least, seemingly plainly. Every time he turned there was a flash of a gem from a different place. Emeralds and sapphires shone alongside turquoise and huge pearls and rubies. Following them at a slight distance were the soldiers, the Inners dressed in flowing gowns the colors of thier elements. The outers were radiant in elaborate costumes representing their roles. Pluto wore a golden hourglass as a necklace, and her black gown was covered with starpoints. Saturn wore a simple red dress that flowed past her feet. It rose into a hood that veiled her mouth with a gem-encrusted mask. Neptune's gown was a deep blue and was trimmed in foamy lace that was encrusted with pearls. Uranus was in male livery. It was sky blue, and had cloud patterns on it that seemed to shift as she walked. The soldiers stopped as Serenity and Endymion topped the dais. Taking their positions on either side of the carpet, they stood straight and proud. After a moment came the Starlights. They had set aside their leather battle costumes in favor of long black dresses that seemed to flow like ink as they moved up the hall. At their head came Kakyuu, and she outshone every woman in the hall other than Serenity. Her dress was a deep red, and it had a flower pattern on it that sparkled in the bright lights of the ceremonial chamber. The pattern gave off a scent that diffused throughout the room and gave the atmosphere a heady feeling. She took her position at the right side of Drake. Finally, there was a gasp as Tsukino Usagi jr. and her entourage entered the room. Gone was the little pigtailed girl who had seemed so robust even when she was at her most vulnerable. Like her mother, her hair had been let down, and the Dreaming Moon Crystal, a silver-black gem with a strange swirling pattern, hung about her neck. Her train was a silver black that glowed with the comfort the New Moon brings. Her four guardians glided into the room with a grace that belied the discomfiture on their faces. Ceres's dress also had a flower pattern, but the flowers were pink on a golden background and gave off no aroma. Vesta wore a bright red outfit that had animal prints on it. On her shoulders were tiger pictures, and around her waist was draped the image of a snake. Pallas's dress was light blue and covered in huge sapphire spheres. The spheres bounced as she walked, giving her the appearance of a mass of superballs moving across the floor. But her face ended that impression, as it's innocence and gentleness shone like a star. Juno's dress was emerald green with large emeralds acting as the clasps at her shoulders and back. The four Asteroid Sailors took their positions alongside the rest of the soldiers, and the ceremony began. 

Drake stepped forward, his long Moon Staff tapping lightly on the marble dais. He turned to the page that stood at attention beside the three thrones that surmounted the dias. Drake reached forward and took one of the crowns the page held. It was a light, silver affair that was obviously designed for a woman. "Princess Serenity, do you swear to uphold the rights of your people in all that you do, to ensure their wellbeing first and foremost, and to provide them aid as needed?"

"I do."

"Do you vow to let no enemy bring harm to your people, fighting always for their protection and welfare?"

"I do."

"Do you accept this crown, and the rights and duties that it bestows upon you?"

"I do."

"Kneel." She did so. "I, as the ruler of the Full Moon Kingdom and the High King of the three Kingdoms, have heard your vows and do accept them. It is with joy in my heart that I do confer upon you, Serenity, the title of Queen. May your rule be long and radiant!" He gently placed the crown on her head. "Rise! Neo Queen Serenity! Take thy place at the Throne of the Earth!" She walked gracefully to the second throne and sat down, amid thunderous applause. Tears ran softly down her face, but she sat straight and tall. Drake then turned to Endymion. "Prince Endymion. Do you swear to aid your future bride, Serenity, in her duties as Queen?"

"I do."

"Do you also swear to uphold the rights and safety of your people?"

"I do."  
"And do you vow to never allow harm to come to your people, on pain of death?"

"I do!"

"Kneel." He did. "Prince Endymion, as the ruler of the Full Moon Kingdom and High King of the Three Kingdoms, I crown you King Endymion! Take your place at Queen Serenity's side." Drake placed the second, golden crown on the kneeling prince. Endymion stood and went to the first throne. He sat down, his face hard and resolute. He turned to Serenity and placed his hand on hers. She smiled at him through the tears, and he smiled back. Drake stepped forward one last time. "Tsukino Usagi junior, your name is now changed. You are Crystalia, now. Step forward. You need not kneel, as this ceremony is different from the others. Do you, Crystalia, now swear to establish your kingdom on principles of right and justice, and uphold these principles in you dealings with all other Kindoms?"

"I do."

"Do you swear to uphold the peace and freedoms of your people, and to guide them as they become a true Kingdom?"

"I do."

"Do you vow to always come to the support of the other kingdoms in time of war, and to not hesitate to call for aid when war comes upon you?"

"I do."

"And finally, do you vow always to remember the events of this test, and apply the lessons you learned within it as you govern your nation?"

"I do." Drake reached out to the final crown.

"Now, as part of the ceremony it is tradition for the representatives from the new-formed Kingdom to place the crown on their Queens head. Do you four accept this honour?"

"We do!" The four Asteroid Soldiers stepped forward and gripped the crown together. As one, they slowly lowered it to rest gently on the small girl's head. Crystalia bowed her head slightly, then straightened, her eyes flashing with tears of pride.

"I hereby declare the New Moon Kingdom to be established! May its rulers grace us always with their light and joy! Take your seat, Queen Crystalia." The girl moved to the third and final throne. She sat, and Drake spread his arms wide. "I give to you, people of earth, King Endymion and Neo Queen Serenity! May they rule you wisely and well! And to you, members of the once New Moon clan, I give you your new title: the New Moon Kingdom! May you always be a happy and well-governed land! And to ensure that, I give unto you Queen Crystalia! May she bless us with her wisdom and light for centuries to come! Now, I'm going to say something I'm sure you're all very happy to hear: let the party commence!" The room burst into cheers and songs, as the delegates from the other parts of the Galaxy, and the people summoned from Earth and the New Moon Kingdom began to mingle with the crew and passengers on the ship. The new-crowned rulers took a few minutes to settle down and regroup from the emotion of the ceremony, then joined Drake on the main floor of the hall to accept the congratulations and adulations of their new subjects. No one noticed, in the flurry of well-wishers, when Drake slipped off to the upper balconies. By the time anyone noticed, it was too late to search for him, so everyone simply waited for him to reappear. No one questioned his absence, though speculations ran wild. None of them were accurate. 

Michael's eyes filled with tears as he watched the ceremony from the high balcony. His men were stationed around the edges of the room to oversee security, but he was nowhere near them. He heard a soft rustle accompanied by a footstep, and spun around. King Drake stood there, his white robes swirling about him like shafts of light. Drake stepped to the viewport. "Nice view, huh? Be nicer on the floor of the hall."

"In other words, why am I not at your side?"

"Let's start with that. But let's alter it, and say 'Why are you avoiding me?'"

"It is my duty to protect and serve you, as your bodyguard."

"And you do a wonderful job. Especially the serving part."

"But I didn't protect you from...myself! I tried to kill you! I...attacked you with Level Five...I...I..."

"Did exactly what I needed you to do. I needed you there, attacking me. You were part of the test. And if you knew who I was, if you had just the slightest hesitation, it would not have been a true test."

"But still! I should have known! I could have killed you!"

"Perhaps, but that was my risk to take. Anyway, I had a plan for you. As always. And that plan included you doing that. Do you remember when I erased your memories?"

"Yes, your Majesty."

"I remember I explained to you that due to the nature of the mission, it would take several years before you could return, correct? And what have I said about formalities?"  
"I remember. Both things, my King."

"Ha, I've missed you. Well, because you took so long in returning, in order to return your memories I needed you in a specific mental state. Of course, I could have tried at another time, but the chances were far higher that I would fry your brains. That 'specific mental state' is exactly the state of mind you enter in Level Five. Also, when I restored your memories with you in that state, I restored the memories of the entire Death Pack. So you had to be willing to attack me in order to return to my service. Now, come join the rest."

"Sir...do you remember what you told me you would say? You know...when the mission was over?"

"Ha! How could I forget. Do you still want to hear it?"

"Please."

"Well done, good and faithful Servant. Come and share in your master's happiness." He reached his hand to Michael, and the youth, his eyes shining with joy, took it. Together the two men, one a King and the other a Warrior, joined in the merriment that their labours had nurtured.


	41. Chapter 41

AN: This is the last chapter! Thanks to all you who read it, and to the two people who actually commented. His chapter was written to explain the sword, and to show the past of the King, as well as give the Sailor Moon story my own special touch. Thank you! Later I will add a small "post-epilogue" to say some more about the story, and possibly add an excerpt from another story to see if people want to read it. So, thanks again.

Disclaimer: last time. Sailor Moon belongs to her creators, of whom I am not a member. But the other stuff is mine.

Epilogue: after-test party!

The party swirled around him, and Drake was suddenly reminded of another, similar party; his coronation. The image rose unbidden before him of his ancient companion. His best friend, Samuel, had been corrupted by the energies the former king had unleashed for the test. Drake remembered the battle...and its conclusion. The corruption had spread too deeply, and it had been too late to save Samuel. Drake had been forced to slay his best friend, using Samuel's own sword. The sword now hung above Drake's throne, as a reminder of the sacrifices of Kingship. It was maintained, but was still covered in the blood of its owner. Now, he had successfully given a test, but the test was more than even the panel knew. From the beginning of their awakening, he had been manipulating them. It had been he who had alerted Luna to the location of Usagi, it had been him who had resurrected the girls at the end of their final battle with Metaria. And it had been he who had guided the two aliens to earth to reawaken the girls in time to defeat the Black Moon clan. He had also persuaded Queen Serenity's spirit to aid Usagi by revealing the girl's past. And the girls had passed his longer test. They were once again the people they had been in the Silver Millenium. Once again, this time wilfully, Samuel's face rose before him, but suddenly Serenity was interposed in front of it. Drake rocked back, to find it wasn't a vision, but the girl herself.

"Sheesh. What are you doing, looking so sad? It's time to party! Come on, have some wine!" She had obviously tried it herself, so he took it from her.

"If you must know, I was remembering my test. And I remember from back when our Kingdoms were allies, that it is a bad idea to get you drunk. No more wine for the Queen, here! We want the party to go as long as possible." Everyone within earshot laughed, but Serenity looked serious.

"What were you remembering?"

"The hardest part of my test. You see that sword above my throne?" She nodded. "It once belonged to my best friend, Samuel. He was my page, and we did everything together. That's his blood on the blade now. I ran him through myself. I had no choice, and it was actually what I was supposed to do, but the pain is still there, even after almost two thousand years. The energy that corrupted him was the same energy that corrupted Galaxia. My father unleashed it upon the Galaxy to test me in his stead. I passed by driving it from the Kingdom and holding it away until it was sealed by Galaxia. Then I finished off by setting in motion the events that would destroy it, through you. Now, enough with the dark thoughts. No more wine for you!" He pulled the bottle away from her grasping fingers, and the merriment resumed.


	42. Chapter 42

Disclaimer (because I can.): Sailor Moon isn't mine, nor is Rurouni Kenshin, Bleach, or Wolf's Rain. But they helped me with this story.

Post-epilogue, final notes.

It's been kinda hard for me to write this, partly because I've had major writer's block for the past week, but also because I'm not really sure what I want to say. At least, I'll say Thank You to the people who read it, and another Thank You to the people who reviewed. Now, I guess I'll talk a little about what went on behind this story.

This story underwent several drafts. The first draft would have taken place during the heart crystal, or Death Buster, arc. However, it got accidentally deleted, making it impossible for me to finish. Another version that never got written down would have been an alternate ending to the Dream Mirror arc, probably not involving the Death Pack, where the Full Moon King was Nehelenia's older brother, and the true King. He had come to earth to execute her for treason, and discovered that she was trying to take over the world, forcing him to use a more drastic form of execution. But that version never saw print, because it alters the final outcome too much.

When I write a fanfiction, I try to avoid breaking with the main storyline as much as possible. This gives my stories an "episodic" feel, as well as making it incredibly difficult to write a decent fanfic. I try to take the rules and boundaries set into place by the creator and work within them to create my story, instead of twisting and ignoring the rules of the world I'm using. The best analogy I can think of comes from the Matrix: instead of being "Neo," as many fanfic writers try to be, I'm an "agent" within the story, acting freely within the system to accomplish my ends. The result is, technically, the same: a fanfiction that incorporates original characters and stories into the thing I'm writing about, but the journey is vastly, vastly different.

The journey to write this story started several months ago, with an idea I got while reading Rurouni Kenshin. Saito is my favorite character in that series, mostly because of how he is introduced. He is introduced first as a villain, gradually being revealed to be a hero, but he never fully becomes a hero. He always retains that edge that makes him almost a villain. I set out to create a character like that, but he didn't feel "right" at first. Then i gave him some partners. After all, with a character named "the Wolf's Fang," he couldn't also be a "lone wolf." He needed a team. And the team needed a cool name. So, the Death Pack was born.

I've been into dragons for a long time, but I've also had an interest in wolves. Wolf's Rain helped me a bit in creating these guys, but mostly the inspiration was Saito, with his talk of being a wolf of Mibu.

So, I had these five men, pretty much fully-formed, but before I could use them in a story, I had to be certain they would perform the function I set for them: a foil for a hero's beliefs. They were limited by their skill and power into being fully-developed, somewhat static characters. Thus, they needed a role in whatever story they were in that would develop them, but only a little, becuse too much development would make them too two-dimensional. The way they are now, they have just enough facets to be three-dimensional, without being so over-developed they lose themselves to the backstory. I'm satisfied with how they are, and how they fulfil their roles.

Now that I had some protagonists, I needed a world where they would fit. The world of Rurouni Kenshin, where I would have preferred to place them, would not have held them properly, due to the recentness of the demise of the Shinsengumi, coupled with their more modern feel. They were made for the late twentieth century, or the early twenty-first. So I cast about for a storyline that they could slip into with as few ripples as possible. And I got Sailor Moon. Not my ideal medium, but many of my characters fit into that universe well enough that I can use them easily, while I have to really work hard to fit them into Wolf's Rain, Rurouni Kenshin, or Bleach, the anime that I'm not irritated to admit liking.

I had characters, and a world, but now I needed a struggle. Sailor Moon had already done the whole "save world from demon-energy thing" storyline too many times. I needed something fresh. The idea for a test actually came from Cardcaptor Sakura, the second seaon. The idea that you have to face a test to use your power properly, particularly a hard test, with a harsh penalty for failure, appealed greatly to the aesthetic sense of the Death Pack's mandated storyline. But that invoked its own set of problems, namely, who would be the tester, and why? And how did they gain the authority to test the group, anyway? And how to keep the Death Pack from executing them when the test was over? The answer to the first two came from a passing refrence to the "New Moon clan" by zirconia, or something. (don't really remember where it is, but it's in there somewhere.) When I remembered that, I thought "Excellent, an antagonist!" But I had to modify him, first.

Now that I had a struggle, and the basic idea for an antagonist, I needed to create the guy. First, he needed to be good. He couldn't be a villain, because if he was then the Death Pack would not only execute him, defeating the purpose of the test, but they might also go after the Sailors for association. A character came to mind, a character that I came up with about a year and a half ago. He was designed to be the King of the Dragons, and all but invincible. A character like that, while good for this kind of role, wouldn't work for this kind of story. And so I modified him, slightly, and lo and behold, King Drake. But now I needed to connect him somehow to the Death Pack in such a way as to prevent them from killing him. The Starlights, actually, provided me with the answer. They were soldiers sent to earth by their ruler in order to search out their ruler and protect them. But the Death Pack could not be searching for someone and still maintain the attitude of hopelessness that is their main characteristic. Someone who is searching for anything, even something that may be impossible to find, always has a small measure of hope. These five men are hopeless, huddling wrecks, fighting the inevitable destruction of their very beliefs and dreams. To have them as seekers would be a mistake. And so they became part of the test. There was no inspiration for that, it just came to me. But it fit, and they seemed to work in their new roles as bodyguards and a test.

Once I had all of that figured out, came the most difficult part: writing it all down. It was a long process, taking several months, but eventually it was done. The first story that was more than 2 chapters long that I actually finished. And then, when it was done, I had an almost harder task: giving it an audience. I researched fanfic sites, and came up with because of their safety policies. Once I had found the audience, I began uploading. And the rest you already know. 

I hate being cliche. The one thing I cannot stand is to use an idea that has been already worked to death. However, I love taking cliche ideas and turning them upside down. Nothing gives me more pleasure than inverting something everyone uses and giving it an edge no one has quite made yet. For example, in one of my original stories the main character travels to a land where the Light is the side of evil and corruption, and the Dark is the healer/protector. So, I created this story: Solar Samurai. Technically it is a part of the "Magical Girl" genre that Sailor Moon and Cardcaptors are parts of, but if you called the main character that, they'd kill you. When you read this excerpt, you'll see why.

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It had been a long, hard day at school, and all he wanted to do was go down to his room and rest until dinner. He had slept lightly on the car ride, and so was less exhausted when he arrived. He opened the door to the basement, letting the dog go ahead. It raced down the stairs, barking. Odd. It had never done that before. Peter shrugged and paid no attention. Calling the dog away from the closed door to his room, he let it outside and went to open the door. Wait...open the door? He always left it open. Always. Why was it closed? Suddenly he was wide awake. He slammed the door open, and snapped on the lights. Two cats stood on his bed, hissing angrily. Lying on his bed, arms folded as if in death, lay a small blonde girl whose hair was in pigtails. She was wearing a flowing white dress that actually looked pretty cool on his green bedcovers. Shaking his head clear of those thoughts, Peter slammed the door shut and reached down to his sword collection. Picking his sturdiest and best blade, he drew it, ready for anything. The cats arched their backs even higher. As he prepared for an attack, peter studied the two creatures. One was black, and the other white. Both, however, had a strange golden bald spot in the shape of a crescent on their foreheads. Peter's mind flashed back to an anime show he had seen several years ago. Hadn't it had some cats like this in it? What was it called? "AH! Sailor Moon!" he said, excited that he remembered. The cats jerked as if startled. Immediately Peter put his sword into a nonthreatening position. The cats relaxed slightly, but remained wary as Peter crossed to his bed. He moved to his tiny little stereo and pushed the "play" button. Immediately, heavy metal music pounded out of the speakers, and the girl on the bed leapt up, wide awake and shrieking in panic. She collapsed to the floor and began babbling in Japanese. The black cat moved over to her, and the girl seemed to clam down slightly. The white cat, now recognized as a male, placed himself in between the two and Peter. Peter could care less about the stupid animal. He pointed his sword at the girl and snapped, anger giving his voice a harsh tone. "What the hell are you doing in my room? How did you even get in this house? Don't you have an anime convention you should be haunting, you cosplaying freak?" The girl gazed at him, then burst into tears. She continued babbling in Japanese. Peter groaned angrily, then pulled his cell phone from his pocket. Before he could flip it open, however, there was a furious cacophany of barking from his dog outside, and then an ominous silence. The door suddenly blew in, sending splinters everywhere. Peter, for lack of a better word, screamed "shit!" and covered his face from the flying wood. "What the hell is going on here?" he bellowed, then he saw the creature that had broken the door.

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This story has two versions, one a fanfiction, and the other an original story. Both are very different from each other, but they both incorporate the same world and the same characters. To learn more, check out my profile. And if you want the rest of this story, let me know!


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